Agreement Reached at Beatrix West Section . Westonaria, 29 May 2013:
Sibanye Gold Limited (JSE: SGL & NYSE: SBGL) is pleased to report that agreement has been reached with employees and organised labour on the future of its Beatrix West Section, following the consultation process which began on 2 April 2013.
The Section 189 process is specifically focused on finding alternatives to closure and to extending employment to those effected for as long as possible. Although alternatives to the eventual termination of operations have not been found, as a result of a concerted production effort by the Beatrix West team, job losses have largely been limited to development employees, thereby providing continuing employment to stoping employees for longer. This arrangement will remain in force as long as the Beatrix West Section operates profitably and has stope face to mine.
In this regard, on the 28 May 2013 Sibanye Gold concluded an agreement with organised labour and non-unionised employees to implement a number of measures aimed at temporarily returning the Beatrix West section to profitability. Management has agreed to keep this section open for as long as it remains profitable.
These avoidance measures include, inter alia:
- stopping development at Beatrix West Section, which will affect approximately 330 employees; and
- approximately 780 over-complement positions being reduced at the Beatrix Operations as a whole.
The Company will however, continue to try and limit job losses and will attempt to accommodate these employees elsewhere in the organisation, where possible.
If, as a result of the section 189 process, retrenchments become necessary at any point, such retrenchments will apply in respect of Beatrix West Section only, so as to minimise disruption, job loss and further financial losses on the other sections of the Beatrix operations.
The process will not invalidate or suspend the existing Section 189 consultation process and will be an extension of the time periods originally set out in the Section 189 letter issued on 2 April 2013.
Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye Gold, commented that the process had proceeded in a mature manner with management, organised labour, non-unionised employees and all stakeholders contributing positively to the negotiation process and the unfortunate commercial realities.
Statement issued by James Wellsted Head of Corporate Affairs Sibanye Gold Limited, through the JSE SENS Service, May 29 2013
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