Lonmin spokesperson Sue Vey said on Thursday no further talks were scheduled for Thursday. Officials from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which has threatened to call a strike if no agreement was reached, could not be reached for comment.
"Lonmin hasn't received the formal notice of strike. If they do that, the company will act to prevent the strike," Vey explained on Wednesday.
Confirmation of, or clarification on, an earlier SABC report that Amcu would serve notice of intention to strike over an organisational rights dispute between itself and the NUM was not immediately available from Amcu.
Trade union United Association of South Africa (Uasa) spokesperson Franz Stehring said he did not know about Amcu's reported intention. The last his union heard on the matter was that arbitration over the dispute was set for June 26.
"We have not been notified that the notification has been issued."
Completed process
It was not possible to have a protected strike until the arbitration process related to a dispute had been completed.
Section 22 of the Labour Relations Act states that if a dispute is unresolved, the next step can be either arbitration or protest action.
"The specific document we have received from the mine and the [Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration] refers to arbitration," he said.
"If they give notice, it would be a [wildcat] strike and would jeopardise the security of its members," he said.
Arbitration
NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said his union would not be informed of such a notice, but the last word it had was also to do with the arbitration.
If there was a strike, it would be unprotected because of the arbitration date, he said. The arbitration followed after Amcu attempted to extend its organisational rights to all Lonmin offices.
It is also seeking the right to collectively bargain for employees in collective bargaining forum two where, according to the arbitration notice, it does not enjoy majority support.
Solidarity, the NUM, and Uasa represent workers in that forum. It already has 70% representation in bargaining forum one, which includes rock-drill operators and miners.
Amcu also wants to bring forward the implementation date of the next round of wage agreements, from October 1 to July 1.
On May 14 and 15, Amcu members went on strike, reportedly because the NUM would not vacate a union office. The unprotected strike ended on May 15 after Lonmin obtained a court interdict.
Commitments
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe would meet parties in the mining sector – including unions and the South African Chamber of Mines – on Friday.
His spokesperson Thabo Masebe said that in the past two weeks Motlanthe, recently appointed to head a mining sector task team, had been meeting unions and the chamber.
At Friday's meeting they would commit themselves to conduct their affairs within the law and within the Labour Relations Act. They would discuss what steps needed to be taken to stabilise the mining sector.
Thirty-four people were shot dead in a clash with police during a strike at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine on August 16. – Reuters, Sapa