Sibanye confident of wage deal

Sibanye is confident it can reach a wage agreement with all four of its unions even after AMCU said it won’t engage in talks.

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Johannesburg - Sibanye Gold is confident it can reach a wage agreement with all four of its unions even after the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union said it won’t engage in negotiations unless the company improves its pay proposals.

"I’m not going to say we’ll raise the offer, but maybe there are other things that could be done to add value to those organisations," CEO Neal Froneman said in an interview Wednesday. "There are many things - shift patterns, funeral benefits."

Sibanye is the only South African gold producer that hasn’t yet signed a wage deal with labor organisations due to its condition that all labor groups agree to the terms.

The National Union of Mineworkers, which penned a pact with AngloGold Ashanti and Harmony Gold Mining earlier this month, represents 43 percent of employees at Sibanye while the AMCU, which rejected the offer, speaks for 42 percent.

AMCU will only engage with gold companies if they improve the current package, President Joseph Mathunjwa told reporters Wednesday. It’s asking for a basic entry-level salary of about R12 500 ($936) a month. Sibanye has offered to raise pay to about R8 000 a month over the next three years.

"If you don’t get all unions to sign, it’s unlikely you’re going to get industrial relations stability," Froneman said.

AMCU, the second-biggest union in gold, received a mandate to strike from members earlier this week. It’s unlikely to call a strike before the end of the year, Mathunjwa said.

"The appetite for a strike is waning," Froneman said, citing feedback from his employees. Even so, "Sibanye has extremely well developed strike plans that put its balance sheet and company in a very strong position to withstand a long strike," he said.

BLOOMBERG