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- Wage talks between Sibanye-Stillwater and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union have deadlocked.
- Two other recognised unions have agreed to an inflation-linked wage deal with the company's platinum division.
- Sibanye said it remained committed to avoiding prolonged wage negotiations.
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Following weeks of wage talks with Sibanye-Stillwater, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has declared a dispute with the company's South African platinum division and referred the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for conciliation.
Sibanye on Friday said an agreement in respect of wages and benefits had been reached with the two other recognised unions at its South African Platinum Group Metal (PGM) operations - the National Union of Mineworkers and UASA.
While the company had anticipated AMCU would accept the deal, the union leadership opted to reject the wage offer this week.
Richard Stewart, Sibanye's chief regional officer for southern Africa, said the company remained committed to achieving a fair and sustainable agreement and avoiding prolonged negotiations but noted "it is concerning that despite overwhelming support for the offer by employees and union representatives at the operations, AMCU national leadership has again chosen to ignore their members".
Sibanye has presented an inflation-linked, five-year, comprising fixed average annual wage increases of 6% and above for bargaining unit employees for a three-year period, followed by CPI-linked agreements in years four and five, as well as notable increases in benefits.
"The current offer will result in further meaningful gains for employees, with entry-level employees on average achieving a basic wage of over R20 000 per month and a total cost to company of over R34 000 per month by year five; or a basic wage of approximately R250 000 per annum and an annual average total cost to company of approximately R410 000," Sibanye said in a statement.
This deal and any future wage agreement with AMCU will be backdated from July.
AMCU has penned historic five-year wage deals with South Africa's other platinum producers months ago.
AMCU and Anglo-American Platinum in May agreed to a deal which saw workers receive an average pay hike of 6.6% from July onwards. A month later, Impala Platinum agreed to a deal in line with mining inflation of around 6.5%.
In June this year, following a three-month wage strike at Sibanye's gold business, the company and AMCU clinched a wage deal. Against a demand of a R1 000 increase in each year of a three-year wage agreement, Sibanye agreed to an increase of R1 000 for the first year, an R900 increase in the second year and an R750 increase in the third year. Against a demand of a 6% increase each year, miners and artisans agreed to a 5% increase in the first and third years, and a 5.5% increase in the second year.
AMCU could not immediately be reached for comment.
