adminJOHANNESBURG. — Government-mediated talks will start yesterday to try to break a deadlock between a South African union and top global platinum producers over a crippling four-month strike, the mining ministry said. A panel drawn from the mining, labour and finance ministries will take up the baton dropped by the Labour Court earlier this week when wage talks between the parties collapsed.
New mining minister Ngoako Ramathlodi set up the team after meeting executives of Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin on Wednesday.
The talks came as firms reported billions of dollars in lost revenue and wages due to the stoppages, contributing to a contraction in the country’s economy in the first quarter of the year.
“All parties are hurting. The workers are hurting. We have no option but to find an amicable solution,” he said in a statement.
South Africa’s platinum producers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) have been holding on-off talks since 80,000 workers went on strike on January 23.
Employees are demanding entry-level wages more than double to 12,500 rand ($1,200, 875 euros) per month.
Employers have so far offered a broader package of changes that would only see wages rise that high from 2017.
The mining and labour ministries involved themselves in mediation efforts using independent negotiators in the early stages of the strike, with little success.
The Labour Court waded into the fray last week to try to broker a deal, also to no avail.
Ramathlhodi, who was appointed last weekend when President Jacob Zuma announced his new cabinet, told local radio on Wednesday that the talks mediated by a judge had broken down.
On Tuesday, he met with the AMCU, which leads the strike that has crimped production in world’s richest platinum belt.
The companies say they have lost almost $2 billion ($1.5 billion euros) in production revenue since the stoppages started, while workers have lost almost $860,000 (630,000 euros) in wages. Data released on Tuesday showed South Africa’s economy shrank by 0,6 percent in the first quarter, largely due to a slump in the mining sector. – AFP..
Online Reporter