Anglo American Platinum settlement offer to AMCU
Offer to take minimum underground cash remuneration to R12,500 per month by July 2017
Anglo American Platinum Limited (Anglo American Platinum), advise that the Company has tabled a strike settlement offer in respect of wages and benefits to employees who are members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). This follows recent engagements between the CEOs of the companies and the President of AMCU, Mr Joseph Mathunjwa, and AMCU's national leadership.
The proposed increases will ensure that the minimum cash remuneration (comprising basic wages and holiday, living out and other allowances) for entry level underground employees will rise to R12,500 per month (R150,000 per annum) by July 2017. To achieve this, the cash remuneration for the employees would rise between 7.5% and 10% across the various bands of employees, with relevant allowances rising in line with inflation.
It is important to note that by implementing these increases by July 2017, the cost to company for the lowest paid underground employee would be in excess of R 17,500 per month (R210,000 per annum). The cost to company includes cash remuneration, medical, retirement, overtime and bonus provisions. Longer term issues such as labour migrancy and living conditions will be handled through company-level joint task teams.
The Company notes that it can ill afford the revised settlement offer, which represents an increase from the 7.5% to 9% CCMA offer, and the 7.5% to 8,5% offer made prior to the commencement of the strike. These concessions have been made by the Company in good faith through various attempts over the last two months to end this industrial action. Labour costs account for approximately 55% to 60% of annual production costs and unsustainable increases in these costs will be catastrophic to the future viability of the industry.