The Chamber of Mines, representing AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony, together with the NUM, Solidarity and UASA, today signed an agreement to give effect to clause 11 of the 2011 – 2013 Chamber Gold Wage Agreement.

The Agreement provides that:

• Category 3 employees will all be placed in the higher Category 4, which will now be the entry level for the companies;
• the salaries of the Category 4 to 8 employees will be raised by between 1.5% and 2%;
• a new operator level for Loader, Locomotive, Winch and Water Jet Operators will be created within Category 4 and their basic rates will be adjusted by between R250 and R400 per month;  and
• the Rock Drill Operators will either have their basic rates adjusted by R500 or will receive an allowance of R400.

All these adjustments are in addition to the salary increases that took effect on 1 July 2012 and which ranged from 8.5% to 10%.

“Stability in the gold mining industry has been achieved at many of the operations and there are hopes that this trend will continue.  The safe resumption of normal mining operations is now the top priority” said Dr Elize Strydom, Senior Executive:  Employment Relations at the Chamber of Mines. 

She also indicated that “the unprotected industrial action has had a negative impact on the gold mining industry, the country’s economy, and on the employees themselves who have forfeited millions of Rands in lost earnings”.  

“The gold companies and the unions are determined collectively to chart a way forward for the industry that will strengthen the structures of collective bargaining and avoid a repetition of recent events.  In this regard, the on-going work of the Sindisa Gold initiative aimed at optimising the use of the mining assets and improving productivity with a completion deadline of March 2013 will be critical” said Dr Strydom.

The parties have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the safety of employees and protecting them from acts of violence and intimidation.