SA coal strike ends as employers, unions sign 2-year wage deal

A week-long strike by some 150 000 workers in South Africa’s coal sector came to an end on Monday as employers and unions signed a two-year wage agreement and reached a consensus on other conditions of employment. In 2011, miners, artisans and...

NUM declares dispute with Exxaro Coal

South Africa’s coal sector strike could grow, as the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Tuesday declared a wage dispute with Exxaro’s coal operations falling outside the Chamber of Mines (CoM) negotiations. It demanded that Exxaro...

SA mine accident kills nine Impala Platinum workers

The world’s second-largest platinum producer, Impala Platinum (Implats), on Tuesday confirmed that nine mineworkers had died in an underground accident at its Rustenburg mine. Implats recovered the bodies of seven employees who had been missing...

SA regulator to probe power utility’s primary energy costs

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) would conduct an investigation into Eskom’s primary energy costs, and specifically the cost of coal, to establish the “prudence of the costs”, chairperson Collin Matjila reported on...

SA union calls for probe into coal sector as Eskom applies for power price hike

Trade union Solidarity on Monday again urged the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to investigate the coal industry according to the Electricity Regulation Act. Speaking at public hearings into Eskom’s 34% interim tariff...

Daily podcast – April 8, 2009

In today's podcast: Iluka Resources unveils plans to adjust its production base in response to the weak demand for its major products; and more than 3 000 employees of Pamodzi Gold's President Steyn mine are expected to hold a mass demonstration...

Pamodzi workers to demonstrate over nonpayment, job losses

More than 3 000 employees of South African gold producer Pamodzi Gold’s President Steyn mine were expected to hold a mass demonstration in Welkom on Wednesday. The march follows in reaction to the nonpayment of Pamodzi employees’ salaries, as...

Labour union Solidarity launches Pamodzi Gold crisis fund

Labour union Solidarity on Thursday launched an emergency fund for employees of the financially stricken gold-mining company Pamodzi Gold. Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann announced the introduction of five supporting actions, the...

SA mine fatalities fell 23% in 2008 – union

The number of people killed in South African mines declined almost 23% this year, compared with 2007, trade union Solidarity said on Tuesday. So far 168 people have lost their lives, compared with 221 last year, the union said.

SA miners say retrenchments seen as 'last resort'

Retrenchments in the mining industry would be seen as a “last resort” in response to the global credit crunch, which has put over 9 000 South African mining jobs at risk. This was the collective message from the government, trade unions, and...

SA creates task team to respond to looming mining retrenchments

The South African government has announced the establishment of a task team to come up with responses to the current economic crisis that the mining industry faced. The task team, which would consist of representatives from the Department of...

Gold unions lodge dispute after employers fail to table wage offer

South Africa's biggest miners union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), lodged a dispute against the country's major gold producers, represented by the Chamber of Mines (CoM), after they failed to present an offer in wage...