Mathunjwa has accused gold mining companies and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) of being hellbent on frustrating their union, hence the low wage settlements reached recently. The NUM, Solidarity and UASA recently entered into three year agreements with gold producers. Speaking on Wednesday morning, Mathunjwa also accused the Chamber of Mines of negotiating in bad faith. “For many years workers have been sacrificing their lives for peanuts. “We are also appealing to the employers to come back with an improved and dignified offer or our workers will down tools,”Mathunjwa said.
At the weekend, Amcu announced that its members voted in favour of a strike, demanding monthly salaries of R12 500. Other unions, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and UASA already accepted revised wage offers from gold producers, except for Amcu.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mathunjwa told The Citizen that union members said they were more than ready to go on strike.
“I can’t really say there has been negotiations taking place, except that employers were trying to buy time in a bid to come up with an alternative in case Amcu members decided to go on strike.” Mathunjwa said union members made it clear they were more than ready to embark on a strike. Amcu’s wage demands of R12 500 a month remain unchanged.
Last year thousands of Amcu members in the platinum sector embarked on a five months long strike, which led to many workers being forced to send their families back to their respective homes.
The wage settlements range between 10% and 13%.
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