Implats contractor Triple M says Numsa not recognised, cannot bargain

Triple M Mining CEO Sipho Xipu told Fin24 that the company could not negotiate wages with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) because it did not pass the threshold for recognition at the Impala Platinum (Implats) contractor.

Numsa locked horns with three companies contracting services to Implats this past week, namely Triple M Mining, Reagetswe Mining and Newrak. The three contractors released a joint statement on Thursday, calling Numsa’s plan to strike at their operations “regrettable”.

The union said these contractor companies were paying their workers as little as R5 000 per month for work which Implats workers earn R17 000 a month, and demanded that the contractors make their wages consistent with those of Implats’ permanent employees.

The wage disputes and strike threats impact the three contractors that service Implats and not Implats directly.

However, Xipu told Fin24 on Friday that the contractor company had a close shop agreement with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and that Numsa was not a recognised union at Triple M Mining.

“We have a three-year agreement in place with our majority union, AMCU, and all our employees within the bargaining unit are remunerated according to this valid collective agreement,” said Xipu.

Xipu said a union membership verification process would begin on Friday, as ordered by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. However, as things stood, Numsa did not enjoy the status of recognition at Triple M Mining, and the contractor’s agreement with AMCU protected negotiations from “proliferation”.

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“Numsa has no organisational rights at Triple M Mining. As a result of the agreements in place, we cannot discuss substantive issues with minority or unrecognised unions.

Numsa has had 14 months to prove that they could reach the 35% threshold of membership, which they failed to attain,” Xipu said.

This past Tuesday, Reagetswe Mining received an interim interdict from the Labour Court in Johannesburg preventing a strike at its operations and Newrak is expected to pursue an interdict as well.
Numsa has remained resolved that it will pursue legal avenues to reaffirm members’ right to strike for equal wages. The three contractors denied Numsa’s claim that any employee at their operation earns R5 000 for the same work a permanent Implats employee performs.-eBusiness Weekly