Modikwa mine talks end in deadlock

A Monday meeting between National Union of Mineworkers’ (Num’s) representatives and the management at the Modikwa mine ended without resolve.

Onis Ferothwane, one of the negotiators representing the Num, said no agreement was reached in the talks, and that the strike continues.

However, Pieter Rã¶rich, an executive director at African Rainbow Minerals, one of the mine’s owners, said: “We feel we made a lot of progress. We have given them some good proposals and we are waiting for a response.”

Ferothwane said the most contentious issue is labour’s call for an end to continuous operations at the mine. Rã¶rich said the mine was designed for continuous operations and therefore it would be impossible to eliminate.

Independent arbitration

If proposals are not accepted the dispute could end up under independent arbitration or before the courts, although ARM does not expect it to go that far.

The mine loses an average of R5-million in revenue per day due to the strike, although workers are not being paid.

The strike started on Friday after Num demanded the phasing out of continuous operations and for a 100 percent transport subsidy of R162 per month per employee.

Basic earnings had already been agreed upon with a seven percent hike included in the package.

The mine is a joint venture project between ARM and Anglo Platinum.

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