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South Africa: Work stoppages hits Amplats mines in protest of impeding job cuts
(Reuters) – Fewer than one in five workers turned up for work at Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats) South African platinum mines around the city of Rustenburg, it said on Friday, in protest against planned job cuts.
Amplats – part of global mining group Anglo American and the world’s No. 1 producer of the precious metal – said last month it would cut 4,800 jobs, laying off 3,300 workers and paying off the rest.
It backed away from a target of 14,000 jobs after a pushback from the government and unions, which included work stoppages orchestrated by members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
Unlike those stoppages, Friday’s action is legal and in keeping with a change of tactics by AMCU, which was behind a wave of stoppages and pickets that may have negatively impacted South Africa’s gold and platinum sectors last year.
A National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) gold miners’ strike in September lasted only three days, raising hopes that stoppages in other sectors may not be protracted. But AMCU is unhappy with the 8 percent gold miners’ pay hikes and may call further action.
“The company confirms that the stoppage is legal,” Amplats said in a statement. “All the company’s process operations are operating normally. Production will be impacted by the strike action although sales will not be impacted at this point,” it said.
Amplats management, mindful of the impact strikes had on the company’s bottom line last year, said stoppages could put more jobs at risk.
Job cuts are a sensitive issue in South Africa, where the unemployment rate has remained stuck at 25 percent.
The issue is also important for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) which faces an election in just over six months.
South Africa accounts for 75 percent of global platinum output and the precious metal’s spot price on Friday was up 0.8 percent at US$1,415.49 an ounce.
Coal producers and unions meet on Monday to try to hammer out wage agreements and avert possible strike action that could hit exports to Europe and Asia and supplies to power firm Eskom.