Amcu shifts the goalposts

Hopes that the five-month-long strike in the platinum industry was drawing to a close were dealt a heavy blow yesterday.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has increased its demands from those agreed to last week.

The union now wants a signing-on bonus for its 80000 members.

Yesterday the world's three largest platinum producers received written feedback from Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa following an agreement "in principle" last week.

But the three companies - Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin - were shocked when Amcu introduced the new demands.

These include a once-off R3000 back-to-work bonus, an end to criminal and disciplinary charges against members and a moratorium on retrenchments by the three platinum producers.

Amcu also seeks an inflation-based increase on housing allowances.

The mining companies described the demands as unaffordable and said they would result in an additional cost of about R1-billion, which was not covered in the agreement.

The companies jointly stated: "The companies simply cannot afford the additional wage demands.

"The goal remains a sustainable solution beneficial to all stakeholders ."

The companies said workers had started returning to the platinum belt in "large numbers".

The platinum producers have lost about R23.1-billion in revenue since the strike began on January 23.

On Thursday last week, shop stewards urged Mathunjwa to accept the platinum producers' latest offer at a mass meeting.

The earlier agreement provided workers in the lowest two bands of the workforce with a R1000/month increase on their basic rate for two successive years. There would then be a R950/month increase thereafter.

Under the deal, skilled workers would receive an 8% increase in the first year and a 7.5% hike for two years thereafter.

An intervention by Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi failed about two weeks ago, leaving the union and the companies in a deadlock, with Amcu refusing to budge from its demand of a R12500/month basic wage. Additional reporting by BDLive