Talks between Sibanye-Stillwater gold mine and its workers have reached a deadlock after the two sides nearly sealed a deal following five days of state mediation, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu confirmed on Tuesday.
A counter-offer tabled by two unions representing workers at the Sibanye-Stillwater was rejected Monday evening as wage talks hit another stalemate, Mammburu said.
The two unions, NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, who had earlier on Monday rejected a new offer in the negotiations facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), put forward their own counter-offer to that of Sibanye-Stillwater.
According to the NUM official, the counter-offer would have seen the mineworkers pocket a US$53 increase in the first year, a US$200 one-off payment and a five percent rise for officials and artisans.
However, Sibanye-Stillwater instead proposed a US$47 increase, a US$200 one-off payment and a five percent increase for officials and artisans, he said.
For the second- and third-years, Sibanye-Stillwater offered US$67 and US$60 increases, respectively, and a five percent increase for the other employee categories, the spokesperson said, while the unions’ counter-offer was for a 5.5 percent increase for the other categories in both the second and third years of the suggested multi-year wage increase deal.
Sibanye-Stillwater rejected the unions’ offer Monday night which led to negotiations hitting the deadlock, Mammburu said.
“We will meet Sibanye-Stillwater again on Tuesday but this will be about agreeing on a way forward as these negotiations have deadlocked,” he said.
The talks started on May 26 after Sibanye-Stillwater called on the CCMA to intervene in the dispute.
NM/jn/APA