BMWU secures massive victory against Mupane
Chakalisa Dube | Monday February 7, 2022 06:00
The agreement will last until April 2023. It was signed by both parties on Wednesday. The new deal means that employees will get a wage increase amounting to six percent from April 2022 until April 2023. In addition, the employees will get another six-percent salary increase back dated from April 2021 to March 2022. The salary talks between Mupane and BMWU have been dragging since November last year. The union had initially proposed a 13% salary increase for its 111 members against the four percent tabled by the mine management.
The union later revised its offer to eight percent early last month, but the mine management maintained its four percent position. The union would later say that any offer above four percent is suitable but Mupane would not budge.
It was only after the union heightened plans to embark on a legal strike that the mine tabled a six percent offer for the 2021/2022 as well 2022/2023 financial years. “We have reached an agreement with the mine management.
This then means that the legal strike we were planning to embark on will not take place,” said BMWU executive secretary Karabo Phiri yesterday. Phiri added: “ We were already at an advanced stage in terms of preparing for the strike. We had drafted the strike rules and fully mobilised our members. Fortunately, the mine brought an improved offer to the table and we accepted it.” Meanwhile, the mine also issued an internal memo on Wednesday confirming that a wage agreement has been reached with the union. When the two parties failed to reach an agreement on December 2, 2021, they went on a 30-day cooling period which ended towards the end of January. BMWU officials made it clear that after the cooling off period, their members will proceed with the strike if they do not reach an agreement with Mupane.
In fact, two-thirds of the 111 unionised employees under the employ of the Mupane had endorsed the strike, which is a legal requirement. Phiri said they still have another dispute with Mupane over payment of bonuses. “In 2016 we reached a substantive agreement with Mupane that every employee at the mine will be eligible for a 13th cheque every year. Now the employer is saying that payment of bonuses is discretionary (not substantive), something we are entirely opposed to as the union,” he said.
Phiri also said the matter has since escalated into a dispute and both parties will soon appear at the district labour office for mediation. “The matter will most likely end up at the Industrial Court because I do not see us reaching a consensus with the mine management,” he said.