SOUTH AFRICA

UASA union accepts Sibanye-Stillwater wage offer
Reuters | March 14, 2022 

(Image courtesy of Sibanye Stillwater.)

Sibanye-Stillwater said on Monday the United Association of South Africa (UASA) union has accepted its wage offer, meaning UASA members will no longer be locked out of the workplace.


Sibanye has been in talks with unions over wages at its South African gold operations, and implemented a lockout last Thursday after receiving strike notice from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) earlier in the week.

Members of the Solidarity union, which accepted Sibanye’s wage offer last week, will no longer be locked out of the workplace either, Sibanye said on Monday. Solidarity had said it would challenge the company’s move to lock out its members.

Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman said the company is “hopeful” that both the NUM and AMCU will soon accept the offer too.

Under Sibanye’s final offer – the sixth since talks began – miners, artisans and officials would receive a 5% pay increase each year and “unskilled and semi-skilled” employees would be given an annual increase of 800 rand ($51.72) a month each year between 2022 and 2024.

(By Helen Reid; Editing by Promit Mukherjee)

Harmony reports fatality at Johannesburg mine
Reuters | March 14, 2022 

Doornkop mine. (Image courtesy of Harmony Gold)

South African gold miner Harmony Gold said on Monday that a mine-worker had died of an accident at one its mines in Johannesburg on Friday.


“Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited regrets to report that one of its employees tragically lost their life following a mine-related material car incident during the afternoon of Friday 11th March 2022, at its Doornkop mine, near Soweto, in the Gauteng province,” the company said in a statement.

Harmony, South Africa’s biggest gold producer, said the affected part of the mine had been closed while investigations were underway.

(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Promit Mukherjee)