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10 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 46/2001
As South Africa faces the second day of a nationwide electricity strike, unionised miners have voted massively in favour of industrial action in the country's biggest industries, gold and coal mining.
Announcing the ballot result this afternoon, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) immediately put some employers on notice of strike action. But three coal mining companies have now fallen into line with the union's demands, and national-level talks with the gold producers, in particular, are to continue on Friday.
"We are at a knife's edge," the mining union warned the employers this afternoon. The threat of a nationwide mining strike remained a very real one, and the NUM hoped that "common sense, ingenuity and humane attitude will prevail."
The mine and power workers are incensed by pay offers that would push down their already meagre living standards.
Several power cuts were reported across the country yesterday as workers struck against a move by the parastatal electricity utility Eskom to unilaterally impose pay increases of between 7 and 9 percent. The unions are demanding 11 percent for the lowest-paid workers and 9 percent for the highest-paid.
Two major unions involved in the action - the NUM in both mining and electricity, and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in power - are affiliated at the global level to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
"This is an industrial campaign in favour of a living wage and decent conditions for many of South Africa's most vital workers," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. "Our South African brothers and sisters have our full solidarity in this crucial struggle."
ELECTRICITY
POWER CUTS AND DEMOS
The Eskom strike received full support from the workforce yesterday, the South African unions report. "Demonstrations were held at workstations throughout the country, with thousands of workers taking part in the action."
NUMSA noted major power cuts in the province of Mpumalanga, with other outages in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Eskom claimed that there had been no interruption of supply, but the national news agency Sapa said it had received numerous phone calls complaining of power cuts.
Industrial action and demonstrations took place in all provinces.
Strikes and demonstrations were continuing today, as the unions took Eskom to court for unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of its employees. This breaches South Africa's Labour Relations Act, the unions point out.
NUMSA called the unilaterally imposed 7 percent hike "miserable" and "measly" and said it would "lead to serious poverty and misery."
The unions insist that the power strike could have been avoided if Eskom had sent senior managers to the 2001 wage talks. Most of the junior managers involved in the negotiations so far "do not have the vision and capacity to deal with crucial national issues that affect the working conditions of workers," the unions say. "We are therefore calling for their instant removal from the wage talks."
Eskom has "continued to disadvantage workers whilst making huge profits," NUMSA points out. "Last year alone the company made a profit of 3 billion Rand. The whole of the profits went to company executives in a form of huge salaries and bonuses. The majority of the workers did not receive the profits. Their purchasing base has continued to diminish, leaving many of them in dire poverty."
MINING
STRIKE NOTICE AS TALKS CONTINUE
In mining, South Africa's biggest industry, negotiations reached deadlock last week between the NUM and the employers' Chamber of Mines - specifically the gold and coal producers.
The union then organised a national strike ballot, while emphasising its openness to a continued dialogue with the Chamber - "in particular where there would be a clear and genuine indication of improved offers aimed at addressing [the union's] demands."
This Monday, all NUM members in the gold and the coal mines were balloted on strike action. The results received up to this afternoon are:
Total votes cast: 96 723
Yes: 95 130
No: 1 078
Spoiled papers: 515
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Mines had asked for new talks, which were held on 24 July and resulted in some improved offers:
Gold producers
All the gold mining houses have now committed themselves to a minimum monthly wage of 2 000 Rand (about 244 US dollars) by the year 2002. However, different companies have proposed different ways of reaching this target. The basic minimum is proposed as an entry point amount for miners joining the industry. At present, their monthly pay ranges from 1 200 to 1 600 Rand (about 146 to 195 US dollars). On the issue of annual leave, only two companies are offering 25 days, with the commitment of reaching 28 days by 2002. The rest only talk about an additional two days over the two-year cycle, thus reaching only 23 days.
The union is presently discussing these new offers, and will report back to the membership before deciding on action in the gold sector.
It will meet with the Chamber of Mines - gold producers specifically - this Friday to "give them feedback on what the union members have to say to their demands."
But, the NUM warns, "this situation neither implies nor means that the strike threat is lifted off with regards to gold producers. It is now imperative that the Friday meeting should make good and emerge, once and for all, with a settlement package acceptable to both parties."
Coal producers
Three companies - Duiker, Afri-Ore and Kangra - presented offers which met all the outstanding demands of the union. The NUM says this "demonstrates the genuine commitment of these mine houses to work together with us towards realising the objective of transforming the mining industry. We applaud the seriousness with which they have gone about this matter, and can only foresee prospects of a better and improved collective action." There will be no strikes at these three companies.
Three other companies - Ingwe, Eyesizwe and Anglocoal - did not bother to make any offer at all. "Consequently," the NUM says, "we remain in deadlock with this troika on the three issues of meal interval, medical incapacity and wages." These companies are "hell bent on refusing to address the genuine demands of the mineworkers," the NUM points out. "It is this inhumane attitude that makes them blind to even the most basic of human needs; the need for nourishment - that is; a meal interval. Their failure to address the issue of medical incapacity, particularly of those terminally ill mineworkers, speaks volumes of how they perceive the lives of these workers." The NUM has therefore today given Ingwe, Eyesizwe and Anglocoal notice of strike action "beginning on Sunday, July 29th with the night shift."
Ingwe is owned by mining multinational Billiton, whose share price fell by 4.19 percent on the Johannesburg stock exchange following this afternoon's NUM announcement.
Anglo American, owner of Anglocoal, fared even worse. By the end of trading today, its share price had plummeted by 8.18 percent.
Announcing the ballot result this afternoon, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) immediately put some employers on notice of strike action. But three coal mining companies have now fallen into line with the union's demands, and national-level talks with the gold producers, in particular, are to continue on Friday.
"We are at a knife's edge," the mining union warned the employers this afternoon. The threat of a nationwide mining strike remained a very real one, and the NUM hoped that "common sense, ingenuity and humane attitude will prevail."
The mine and power workers are incensed by pay offers that would push down their already meagre living standards.
Several power cuts were reported across the country yesterday as workers struck against a move by the parastatal electricity utility Eskom to unilaterally impose pay increases of between 7 and 9 percent. The unions are demanding 11 percent for the lowest-paid workers and 9 percent for the highest-paid.
Two major unions involved in the action - the NUM in both mining and electricity, and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in power - are affiliated at the global level to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
"This is an industrial campaign in favour of a living wage and decent conditions for many of South Africa's most vital workers," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. "Our South African brothers and sisters have our full solidarity in this crucial struggle."
ELECTRICITY
POWER CUTS AND DEMOS
The Eskom strike received full support from the workforce yesterday, the South African unions report. "Demonstrations were held at workstations throughout the country, with thousands of workers taking part in the action."
NUMSA noted major power cuts in the province of Mpumalanga, with other outages in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Eskom claimed that there had been no interruption of supply, but the national news agency Sapa said it had received numerous phone calls complaining of power cuts.
Industrial action and demonstrations took place in all provinces.
Strikes and demonstrations were continuing today, as the unions took Eskom to court for unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of its employees. This breaches South Africa's Labour Relations Act, the unions point out.
NUMSA called the unilaterally imposed 7 percent hike "miserable" and "measly" and said it would "lead to serious poverty and misery."
The unions insist that the power strike could have been avoided if Eskom had sent senior managers to the 2001 wage talks. Most of the junior managers involved in the negotiations so far "do not have the vision and capacity to deal with crucial national issues that affect the working conditions of workers," the unions say. "We are therefore calling for their instant removal from the wage talks."
Eskom has "continued to disadvantage workers whilst making huge profits," NUMSA points out. "Last year alone the company made a profit of 3 billion Rand. The whole of the profits went to company executives in a form of huge salaries and bonuses. The majority of the workers did not receive the profits. Their purchasing base has continued to diminish, leaving many of them in dire poverty."
MINING
STRIKE NOTICE AS TALKS CONTINUE
In mining, South Africa's biggest industry, negotiations reached deadlock last week between the NUM and the employers' Chamber of Mines - specifically the gold and coal producers.
The union then organised a national strike ballot, while emphasising its openness to a continued dialogue with the Chamber - "in particular where there would be a clear and genuine indication of improved offers aimed at addressing [the union's] demands."
This Monday, all NUM members in the gold and the coal mines were balloted on strike action. The results received up to this afternoon are:
Total votes cast: 96 723
Yes: 95 130
No: 1 078
Spoiled papers: 515
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Mines had asked for new talks, which were held on 24 July and resulted in some improved offers:
Gold producers
All the gold mining houses have now committed themselves to a minimum monthly wage of 2 000 Rand (about 244 US dollars) by the year 2002. However, different companies have proposed different ways of reaching this target. The basic minimum is proposed as an entry point amount for miners joining the industry. At present, their monthly pay ranges from 1 200 to 1 600 Rand (about 146 to 195 US dollars). On the issue of annual leave, only two companies are offering 25 days, with the commitment of reaching 28 days by 2002. The rest only talk about an additional two days over the two-year cycle, thus reaching only 23 days.
The union is presently discussing these new offers, and will report back to the membership before deciding on action in the gold sector.
It will meet with the Chamber of Mines - gold producers specifically - this Friday to "give them feedback on what the union members have to say to their demands."
But, the NUM warns, "this situation neither implies nor means that the strike threat is lifted off with regards to gold producers. It is now imperative that the Friday meeting should make good and emerge, once and for all, with a settlement package acceptable to both parties."
Coal producers
Three companies - Duiker, Afri-Ore and Kangra - presented offers which met all the outstanding demands of the union. The NUM says this "demonstrates the genuine commitment of these mine houses to work together with us towards realising the objective of transforming the mining industry. We applaud the seriousness with which they have gone about this matter, and can only foresee prospects of a better and improved collective action." There will be no strikes at these three companies.
Three other companies - Ingwe, Eyesizwe and Anglocoal - did not bother to make any offer at all. "Consequently," the NUM says, "we remain in deadlock with this troika on the three issues of meal interval, medical incapacity and wages." These companies are "hell bent on refusing to address the genuine demands of the mineworkers," the NUM points out. "It is this inhumane attitude that makes them blind to even the most basic of human needs; the need for nourishment - that is; a meal interval. Their failure to address the issue of medical incapacity, particularly of those terminally ill mineworkers, speaks volumes of how they perceive the lives of these workers." The NUM has therefore today given Ingwe, Eyesizwe and Anglocoal notice of strike action "beginning on Sunday, July 29th with the night shift."
Ingwe is owned by mining multinational Billiton, whose share price fell by 4.19 percent on the Johannesburg stock exchange following this afternoon's NUM announcement.
Anglo American, owner of Anglocoal, fared even worse. By the end of trading today, its share price had plummeted by 8.18 percent.