Operations at the Sibanye-Stillwater mines are expected to resume following the signing of a three-year wage agreement with unions.
This includes a R3 000 ex-gratia payment to all categories of employees. The agreement, signed on Saturday, ends a three-month-long strike by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) which started in March.
Unions and Sibanye Gold Mine strike wage deal:
NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu says miners are still not happy about the R300-million bonus paid to CEO Neal Froneman in 2021.
“That is what led to the strike, that executives at Sibanye Stillwater are earning a lot of money. Even when the gold price is doing well in the international market, there is no profit share when it comes to that, it’s only the executives that benefit. Workers are not happy about that R300 million bonus that was earned by the CEO and the arrogance that it displayed trying to justify earning of that kind of money,” says Mammburu.
Camping outside Union Buildings
Late in May, mineworkers affiliated to AMCU and NUM were camped outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The mineworkers vowed to continue camping at the Union Buildings until their demands were met.
They were calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in the strike.
