Last year South Africa saw 88-recorded strikes, which cost the economy just over R6 billion, while in 2012, a total of 99 strikes cost the economy R15.3 billion. 2012 was also clouded by the Lonmin massacre, which saw 44 deaths, 41 of which were striking mineworkers. This fuelled further unrest into 2013/14. But off this backdrop, Solidarity’s Gideon du Plessis says 2015 has been relatively quiet in nature but he doesn’t expect it to remain so into 2016. Du Plessis says the sparks are set to fly as both gold and platinum sectors head into negotiations, while Telkom and Eskom are also set for a showdown. Not what’s needed in an economy that’s already fighting anaemic growth with the Reserve Bank revising 2016 growth down to 1.5% at its recent monetary policy meeting. One can only hope common sense prevails from both sides. – Stuart Lowman
By Gideon du Plessis*
When it comes to labour relations, 2015 was relatively peaceful; ironically, protesting university students have achieved the main victory for workers. Among other things, the recent student protest action against tuition fees led to the approval by various universities to once again provide services in-house that had been outsourced. For the past decade Cosatu has been trying to change the contract worker dispensation, with little success. The students’ success must therefore give the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) sleepless nights about the relevance it will have in the future.
As far as Solidarity’s labour relations are concerned, the low for 2015 relates to the recent strike in the coal sector by the National Union of Mineworkers (Num). At the outset of the coal negotiations, Solidarity and the United Association of South Africa (Uasa) had already realised that NUM was going to strike to give their militant credibility a boost. During the NUM strike our members kept the coal mines running to avert load shedding. When the symbolic strike came to an end the Chamber of Mines hosted a grand party for NUM; non-striking trade unions, on the other hand, were treated with total disrespect during the signing ceremony. This is yet another example of the fact that the Chamber has lost its moral compass and has become spineless – no wonder many mining houses have indicated to me that from now on, they will not be negotiating under the auspices of the Chamber again.
Labour relations developments in 2016
Apart from the minimum wage debate, which is set to come to a head in 2016, an eye should be kept on the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) next year. Amcu is currently in possession of a so-called strike certificate as it is the only trade union that did not accept the recent gold wage agreement. Rumour has it at grassroots level that Amcu’s gold strike would start on 26 January 2016. The risk Amcu is running is that it may only organise a protected strike at Sibanye Gold as it is not the majority trade union at AngloGold Ashanti and at Harmony Gold. If the gold companies are going to stand by their promise and summarily dismiss striking Amcu members who misbehave and the companies do not make any concessions to Amcu, it could mean the end of Amcu’s rise as it would mean that Amcu could not achieve anything better for its members than what the other trade unions had achieved during the gold negotiations of 2013 and 2015. Amcu members would then have to ask themselves if the switch from NUM to Amcu brought any benefit. Amcu will be facing the same dilemma at Sasol’s coal division next year as, apart from impressive promises, it has never succeeded to negotiate a better deal for its members than what we, the other trade unions have managed to do, notwithstanding the fact that Amcu insists every year to negotiate separately from the other trade unions.
Negotiations in the platinum sector
However, the major wage negotiations in 2016 will be in the platinum sector as the three-year wage agreement with Amcu expires at the end of June 2016. These negotiations will be key for both Amcu and the employers. Amcu’s five-month long strike in 2014, coupled with other external factors, brought Amplats, Impala Platinum and Lonmin, in particular, to their knees. After the strike, Amplats tried to cut its risk by selling some of its mines to Sibanye Gold; transfer is not due before June 2016, which means Amplats would still have to negotiate in respect of the same mines as those during the 2013-14 negotiations. Amplats would, therefore, be under more pressure because Sibanye would set the mandate for settlement at those mines the company is due to take over. Lonmin’s situation is grim and the company cannot afford a single day’s striking, because one of the conditions of its shareholder bailout deals precisely with labour stability and a low wage settlement. Amcu, on the other hand, is aware of its share in the ailing platinum sector after their devastating 2014 strike, and Amcu will have to down-manage its members’ expectations after having made outrageous future promises to members after the 2014 strike. Amcu will have to prepare its members on an inflation related increase or prepare them for more retrenchments.
Telkom and Eskom negotiations
It will also be interesting to follow next year’s negotiations at Telkom and Eskom. Telkom’s negotiations should start by February 2016 and will present an opportunity to the militant Communication Workers Union (CWU) to regain lost ground restructuring processes and to take revenge for the way in which Telkom this year has surreptitiously steamrollered the restructuring process, undermining trade unions in the process.
The sparks are also bound to fly during Eskom’s negotiations set to kick off somewhere around April 2016. Eskom is the favourite battleground of former Cosatu allies, the NUM and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) where they want to settle their external trade union and political differences (Numsa is EFF minded and NUM sides with the ANC) and try to humiliate and outperform the other at the negotiating table. Even though Eskom has been classified as an essential service and no protected strikes may take place there, the two trade unions have already declared that they would go on strike and will impede power supply – come what may.
During 2015 the labour relations arena was quieter than in previous years because the Marikana events in 2012 had led to increased labour unrest in 2013 and 2014, which this year has normalised. Now the 2015 student protest action is bound to lend dangerous energy to the 2016 wage negotiations – the recent labour unrest by Nehawu members working in Parliament is a good foretaste of what lies ahead next year.
* Gideon du Plessis is Solidarity’s General Secretary
