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Trade union Solidarity today expressed its doubts whether the Chamber of Mines is still a relevant role-player in the coal industry. This comes after the chamber and employers in the industry could hardly reach agreement on any of the issues up for negotiation since this year’s wage negotiations commenced.

According to Deon Reyneke, Head of the Energy Industry in Solidarity, the chamber and employers could, so far, only agree that the wage agreement should be a multi-year one. “The chamber appears to be out of touch with the industry as a whole. Trade unions and employers alike are frustrated by the way in which the chamber is handling the negotiations. We believe that if the chamber is only going to be a facilitator then coal industry negotiations should take place at a company level in future,” Reyneke said.

Reyneke furthermore says the chamber is not constructive and transparent enough during the negotiations. “For example, the chamber presented an ‘amended offer’ to trade unions and employers, while it transpired at a later stage that it was actually its final offer. It seems as if the chamber is not participating in good faith in the negotiating process,” Reyneke added.

The chamber and employers are currently divided between wage offers ranging from 4% up to 6%. Solidarity is currently demanding a wage increase of 9% for its members in the industry. Trade unions have an opportunity until next Tuesday to respond to the chamber’s offer.

Issued by Solidarity