South Africa Platinum Union Wants Talks as Deal Signing Delayed
South Africa Platinum Union Wants Talks as Deal Signing Delayed
(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s largest platinum mining labor union said it’s seeking further “technical” talks with the country’s leading producers on Wednesday, after postponing a planned signing ceremony for a new wage deal.
“AMCU has called urgent technical meetings with each of the mining houses to iron out the remaining differences regarding the last proposed amendments,” the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union said in a statement.
AMCU declined to comment on the amendments, which it says reflect the mandate it was given by its members. The postponement of the signing ceremony scheduled for today in Johannesburg came just a few hours after AMCU announced on Tuesday that it had reached a pay deal with Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., Anglo American Platinum Ltd. and Sibanye Gold Ltd.
A settlement would allow South Africa’s platinum miners to capitalize on a rally in metal prices, while providing some welcome relief for a government trying to kickstart a stagnating economy. It would also soothe fears over a repeat of the platinum-mine strike that AMCU led in 2014.
Earlier on Wednesday, AMCU Secretary General Jeffrey Mphahlele said the signing had been postponed to “clean up the document.” The union won’t be seeking to negotiate new terms, he said.
“We’re not tabling new demands,” Mphahlele said by phone. “The negotiations are over, we are just dusting up the document. It’s a matter of days and this week we will sign the document.”
Sibanye doesn’t know why the signing was suspended, after the company sent AMCU a draft agreement, said spokesman James Wellsted. A spokesman for Implats couldn’t immediately comment.
Sibanye rose 3.5% as of 10:36 a.m. in Johannesburg, after gaining 3% on Tuesday. Implats jumped 5.7%, while Amplats was up 3.5%.
Read more on South African platinum giants wage negotiations
Settling the wage dispute could pave the way for Sibanye and Implats to resume paying dividends. Sibanye said last month that it was on track to make payouts in the second half of 2020, so long as a strike over pay could be averted.
To contact the reporters on this story: Felix Njini in Johannesburg at fnjini@bloomberg.net;Paul Burkhardt in Johannesburg at pburkhardt@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Dylan Griffiths
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