Gold wage agreement to be signed

A two-year salary agreement in the gold industry is expected to be signed in the next few days, the gold producers said on Monday.

   

"The agreement hasn't been signed yet. We are finalising the agreement and it should be signed in the next few days," said the gold producers' representative spokeswoman Charmane Russell.

   

"I can confirm that all employees are back at work and operations across the gold industry have been normalised."

   

Russell said the finalisation of the agreement would not take long.

   

The revised offer was presented on Wednesday by the Chamber of Mines, which represents the companies AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Rand Uranium, Harmony Gold, Evander Gold, Sibanye Gold, and Village Main Reef.

   

Under the two-year offer, category four and five employees, and rock drill operators, will receive increases of eight percent, and other employees 7.5 percent with effect from July 1.

   

Employees will also receive inflation-linked increases with effect from July 1 next year, and the monthly living out allowance of R1640 will increase to R2000.

   

Evander Gold and Village Main Reef reached an agreement with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Uasa on Wednesday.

   

On Monday, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold said striking workers had returned to work.

   

Striking NUM staff at Gold Fields returned to work at the South Deep mine on Friday, the company said.

   

"We are pleased that the strike was resolved speedily and that it was conducted peacefully," said Gold Fields South Africa managing executive Kgabo Moabelo.

   

"We believe a two-year agreement will promote certainty and stability."

   

Harmony Gold said operations at all its mines were back to normal.

   

"[Harmony] is pleased to advise that operations at all of its mines were normalised with effect from the night shift on 8 September 2013," it said.

   

Harmony CEO Graham Briggs said the strike would affect both the company's performance for the quarter, and employees' earnings.

   

"Nonetheless, we are pleased to have reached a resolution," he said.

    

On Sunday, the NUM said disgruntled workers, who embarked on a strike last Tuesday, had accepted a new wage offer.

   

-Sapa