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South Africa: Labor unrest, strikes wind down with Amplats deal
(Reuters) – Workers have reached a deal with Anglo American Platinum to reinstate 12,000 miners sacked for an illegal strike, which could end the last big industrial action rocking South Africa’s mining sector.
Months of wildcat strikes have cut production in the platinum and gold sectors, raising concerns about slowing economic growth.
“They agreed to reinstate all the dismissed workers on the provision that they return to work by Tuesday,” Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told Reuters on Saturday.
Seshoka said he expected workers would return to their posts and “that will mean the end of the strike”.
Anglo American Platinum, or Amplats, said in a separate statement it had reached the deal with several unions and offered sweeteners such as a one-off hardship payment of 2,000 rand (US$ 232) to facilitate the return. The strike has lasted about six weeks and crippled production.
“Employees who do not return to work on Tuesday … will remain dismissed and/or be subjected to the illegal strike disciplinary action and will not be eligible for any of the benefits mentioned above,” it said in a statement.
In recent days, several wildcat strikes over wages and working conditions in the gold sector have come to an end with employers firing, or threatening to fire, miners striking illegally.
South African labor law requires clear formal processes for strikes and walk-outs. Those that do not go through all the proper hoops are considered illegal, and can result in striking workers being sacked.
Mining firms usually reinstate dismissed workers because it is more expensive to train a new workforce. But some of the job losses could be permanent with employers using the labor strife to shut down marginal mines in South Africa.
ANC Election
The deal at Amplats comes after Cynthia Carroll, chief executive of parent Anglo American, announced her resignation on Friday. She had come under pressure from investors over the firm’s lagging share price and continued dependence on strike-hit South Africa.
Anglo owns 77 percent of Anglo American Platinum. Although responsible for 24 percent of its parent’s 2011 revenue, Amplats brought in just 8 percent of total operating profit because of soaring costs.
If the workers do return to Amplats, South African President Jacob Zuma will have likely weathered a labor storm that threatened to cause problems for him as he seeks re-election as leader of the ruling African National Congress at a party meeting in December.
If Zuma wins the race to lead the party that dominates South African politics, he will be on a path to remain the country’s president for another term lasting until 2019.
Zuma has called on wildcat strikers to return to work, pledged to speed up a massive infrastructure program to improve living conditions in the mining belt and held a high-level meeting with labor and industry trying to break the impasse.
Local media said Zuma appeared to have an edge in the ANC race, in which about 4,500 local branch delegates will select the party’s leaders. Zuma’s foes, who see him as an ineffectual leader, could be emboldened if labor tensions flare again.
Many strikers accuse ANC leaders and their labor allies of worrying too much about their political ties and not showing enough concern for miners working deep underground.
The strikes have highlighted persistent glaring income inequality in South Africa.