RUSTENBURG  – Allegations that mining companies had continually underpaid overtime to miners since 2000 were shot down as “spurious” by the Chamber of Mines on Wednesday.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) was told in no uncertain terms that it should provide proof to back up its allegations.

“The companies – as required by law – comply with the requirements of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and various recognition and other agreements, and overtime is calculated and paid in accordance with these agreements. If the union has proof that any employee has not been fairly remunerated, there are forums to provide this proof,” said Dr Elize Strydom for the Chamber of Mines on Wednesday.

She said throughout the current negotiations, the gold companies have focused extensively on the sustainability of the industry and transparent financial disclosure.

“AMCU, however, has disappointingly resorted to making a range of spurious claims, which are unhelpful in reaching a settlement that can help the industry preserve jobs amid a growing crisis of unemployment.

“We have engaged in good faith, taking seriously our responsibility to focus on the sustainability of the industry. We have made an offer that is generous in its own right, and especially given the severe challenges the mining industry faces. It is our final offer.”

She said on allegations relating to withholding financial statements, listed companies were required to produce regular audited financial statements which were publicly available.

“Moreover, in terms of the social and economic agreement proposed by the companies at the outset of the wage negotiations, the companies invited all unions and their advisors to engage with the companies’ own financial experts, to interrogate their financial models and subsidiary financial statements. AMCU declined to do so.”

She said it was disappointing that AMCU leadership inexplicably diverted shop stewards, who were members of the bargaining caucus, to a hastily arranged media briefing instead of participating in a planned mediation session that they had agreed to.

At a media briefing in Johannesburg, AMCU announced that it was rejecting the companies’ final wage offer and has also demanded overtime monies owed to thousands of mine workers since 2000.

AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa said the union had done research and calculated how the gold mining companies ”stole millions” from the workers to date.

“As much as ‘pay back the money’ chants are made in Parliament, we need to chant ‘pay back the workers’ as well. We did our research…we can show you the graph and how the companies coordinated and did this.

Gold producers owe workers hundreds of thousands of rands from 2000 to date, a worker should not be earning less than R2 000 a month for overtime.

”It is for these reasons that we reject the present offer by the gold companies. We call on the chamber [Chamber of Mines of SA] to review this offer and account for the overtime owed.”

Gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony, Sibanye Gold and Evander Gold Mines tabled a guaranteed pay of entry level employees would reach R12 800 for surfarce and R13 200 per month for underground in the third year of the agreement. AMCU, which represented 30 percent of workers in the gold sector, demanded an immediate R12 500 basic wage increase.

The other unions, the National Union of Mineworkers, Solidarity and Uasa have conditionally accepted the offer. The unions accepted the offer on condition that the employers would repackage their offer.