Exxaro next to face wrath of labour

Diversified resources group Exxaro is the next mining company set to face the wrath of organised labour.

The company’s wage negotiations do not form part of those being conducted under the auspices in the Chamber of Mines.

Trade union Solidarity warned on Friday that wage negotiations at Exxaro could reach a stalemate from the outset if the coal mining company is not prepared to include the standardisation issues with this year’s negotiations.

The first round of negotiations at Exxaro Coal mines took place earlier this week.

Standardisation issues have been delayed for more than four years, said Solidarity spokesperson Louis Pretorius.

Two separate grading systems—the Patterson system and the JE Manager system—are currently used at Exxaro Coal Mpumalanga and Exxaro Coal.

As a result, employees on the same job level at the respective plants receive different salaries and there are also differences between the pension and medical benefits of the two mines.

“During last year’s negotiations it was agreed that a task team, which had already been established in 2009 to manage the grading issues, should have devoted attention to the issue in August 2010. However, nothing came of it,” said Pretorius.

A date for the next round of negotiations has not been set.—I-Net Bridge