HR Pulse

Expect labour relations sparks in 2016

Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of Solidarity, writes in Rapport that labour relations in 2015 were conducted relatively smoothly and, ironically, this year’s victory was achieved by protesting students for outsourced university workers rather than by unions.

He sees the recent strike by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in the coal mining sector as a low point. The non-striking members of Solidarity and the United Association of SA (Uasa) had to keep the mines running so that load shedding could be avoided. But when the strike ended, the Chamber of Mines threw a big signing party, where the NUM was feted and the non-striking unions were treated with disdain. Du Plessis says that various mining houses have told him that they won’t be negotiating in future under the auspices of the Chamber because the employers’ body has lost its moral compass. In the mining sector, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) could be a determining factor next year. The union has a so-called strike certificate because it did not sign the 2015 gold wage agreement. Rumours at ground level are that Amcu will begin a gold strike on 26 January. But, that will be a risk for Amcu because it is only at Sibanye Gold that a strike will be protected.

The big wage negotiations next year will be in the platinum sector, when the current three-year agreements expire. The economic troubles in that sector run deep and Amcu will either have to temper its members expectations or accept further loay-offs Next year’s talks at Telkom and Eskom also promise to be ‘interesting’. Yet, with labour relations having settled down this year in relation to the years following the Marikana events in 2012, the successful student protests of late could well provide dangerous energy for next year’s wage talks. Du Plessis thinks that the recent labour unrest by Nehawu at Parliament could be a portent of things to come. (Loosely translated from Afrikaans).

Source: SA Labour News