JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Saturday tabled a proposal for consideration by platinum producers Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum, and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), in an attempt to end the strike for a R12 500 basic wage, which began on January 23.

The CCMA said in a statement that the parties would be giving feedback and consulting their constituencies on the proposal with talks set to resume on Tuesday, February 4.

CCMA director Nerine Kahn explained that tabling a proposal was a mediator’s tool to advance the resolution of disputes by enabling the parties to consider alternative perspectives on the issues at the heart of the dispute.

“The mediated proposal, or a variation thereof, could form the basis of a final settlement in this dispute,” she stated.

The meeting, under the auspices of the CCMA, had taken place on Saturday after AMCU rejected the platinum producer’s increased wage offer last week.

In the revised offer the companies proposed a three-year agreement with increases of 9% for A-band, 8.5% for B-band and 7.5% for C-band employees, which included miners, artisans and officials, during the first year.

In the second year of the agreement, A-band employees would get an increase of 8.5%, while B- and C-band employees would get increases of 7.5% and 7% respectively.

The agreement for the third year comprised a 7.5% increase for A- and B-band employees, and a 7% increase for C-band workers.

However, AMCU spokesperson Jimmy Gama said on Friday this increased offer did not address the union’s demand for a living wage of R12 500.

He told Mining Weekly Online that the new wage offer only reflected a 0.5% increase on the original offer and, therefore, there was “no real change”.

Meanwhile, the platinum producers on Saturday said in a statement that it was imperative that the resolution was affordable, achievable and sustainable.

“Prior to the start of the [AMCU] strike and before granting wage increases currently under negotiation, around 45% of platinum operations in South Africa failed to break even. Prolonged strike action will result in more losses and further fundamental restructuring and, inevitably, this will have an impact on jobs and indeed the economy,” the companies’ CEOs Chris Griffith, Terence Goodlace and Ben Magara said.

The companies added that an average of R200-million a day in revenue was lost during the strike, with workers losing up to R88-million a day in wages.