The strike at the Modikwa Platinum mine entered its 20th day on Wednesday with an estimated loss in revenue of about R100-million.
Modikwa Platinum, a joint venture between Anglo-Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), has been in a dispute with employees belonging to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) over continuous operations since January 26.
ARM spokesperson Pieter Rorich said on Wednesday that halted production at the mine since the strike commenced had caused a loss of revenue of about R5 million per day.
The issue of continuous operations (Conops), where the mine operates every day of the year except public holidays, remained a sticking point between the union and Modikwa in the dispute, which began over racism allegations.
NUM spokesperson Onis Serothwane said on Wednesday that the continuous working week contravened the Basic Conditions of Employment and Mines Acts.
Rorich, however, said that the company had approval for Conops from the outset.
The union received a 48-hour lockout notice from Modikwa to take effect on Thursday.
A lockout means all NUM members will be locked out of Modikwa’s premises until the union accepts the company’s demand for Conops.
Serothwane said a ”critical meeting” with the mine and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) would take place on Friday. He hoped that meeting would enable a resolution to be reached.
”It is important to get a resolution now, the strike is going on too long … the union could have called off the strike today [Wednesday] due to [agreement on] other issues … but that would have meant that its members were going to work outside the Conops working arrangement,” he said.
Two of the three disputed issues were resolved earlier in February — the provision of transport subsidies for workers and the wage gap between white and black staff.
A no work, no pay policy applied to the 3 000 striking workers. — Sapa