The Associated Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has released its list of demands for the upcoming platinum sector wage talks that kick off next week. Amcu is looking for a R12 500 basic wage for entry level employees (category 4 – 9 workers) and a 15% increase for those in higher categories.
The union held a press conference on Thursday, where it explained its reasoning for making the same basic wage demand that it made when the platinum sector was crippled by a five-month-long strike.
“At the current rate of inflation, we need to be pushing for every worker to be earning R12 500,” said Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa who added that their demands should be higher than that, but their priority was to first reach the R12 500 mark.
He acknowledged that wage negotiations were taking place against a backdrop of GDP declining by 1.6% and unemployment rising to 27% in the first quarter of 2016, but refused to concede that their wage demand would necessarily result in more retrenchments.
“The economy has failed to embark on a job-rich growth trajectory, even when there was a commodity boom,” said Mathunjwa. “While employers were enjoying superprofits between (the years) 2000 and 2007, the country did not achieve full employment. The failure of the South African economy to industrialise, diversify, and beneficiate mining commodities has postponed an opportunity for employment creation.”
Mathunjwa dismissed recent statements from the Confederation of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), about there being a correlation between high wages and increases in retrenchments, calling Cosatu the ‘former voice of the working class’. He said the statement was both devoid of empirical reasoning and fraught with political overtones within the tripartite alliance.
Said Mathunjwa: “Labour law allows employers to retrench for various reasons, including making profit. Companies continue to retrench, even in low-wage sectors. There is no evidence that has shown that retrenchments only happen in a high-wage sector. It is therefore irrational to draw correlations between wage increases and job losses, while employers are given a blank cheque when it comes to retrenchments in this country.”
Mathunjwa advised everyone in South Africa, including the government and the media fraternity, to be directing their outrage at people and corporations who siphoned money to tax havens, evading their responsibilities to the country’s poor. Referring to the most recent Panama Papers debacle, he said this should be of more concern, rather than news of mineworkers demanding a living wage.
“I’m not suggesting that you have to retrench people in order to get a higher salary. In 2012, there was an uprising in the mining sector; there was no retrenchment,” said Mathunjwa.
The union will also be asking for a R6 500 housing allowance, R3 000 living out allowance and a R2 000 transport allowance. It will be looking for a R100 daily meal allowance and underground allowance, for all underground employees, to be upped to R200. Meanwhile, Amcu want the standby allowance and night shift allowance to increase by 10% and 15%, respectively.
“Evidence has shown that the mining CEO in our economy earns, on average, 420 times more than the minimum wage, and 355 times the mining sector’s median earnings,” said Mathunjwa and added that wage increases were the only effective tool to address South Africa’s inequality.
Questioned on the union’s appetite for a strike, Mathunjwa said there was no such thing when going into negotiations, and that chances of a strike depended entirely on employers’ approach to negotiations.
“If they want us to strike, then we will strike,” he said.
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