Strike looms at Tati Nickel Mine
Pini Bothoko | Wednesday May 7, 2014 11:01
Last Friday the workers, especially the BMWU members who numbered 650, met and voted for the start of the strike. BMWU general secretary, Bob Malele told Mmegi yesterday that they have advised the workers to notify the District Commissioner, the Labour Commissioner and mine management of their intention to down tools.
Letters have been dispatched to the trio, whereupon after they have responded, the workers will start their strike. Last week Thursday, Malele said there was a possibility of the workers voting to go on strike at the Friday meeting. “According to our constitution, if members want to go on strike they’ll have to vote in order to reach an agreement to do so,” said Malele.
It has emerged that the miners have lost their patience with the TNMC management and that once they have exhausted all the channels, they would definitely go on a strike.
Though he declined to be drawn into further discussion of the looming strike, the BMWU branch chairperson at TNMC, Thatayotlhe Mpule said that employees need salary increment for the 2013/14 financial year.
“They have been negotiating with the mine management who have said they cannot afford the 11 percent. We might meet later today (referring to last Friday) in which we have to come up with a resolution on this issue,” said Mpule.
Malele said that TNMC wrote to them (union) on April 30, explaining their inability to hike the salaries by 11 percent as demanded by the workers, stating that the company was not performing to expectations.
The union had proposed an 11 percent salary hike, from 10 to 16 percent improvement on gratuity and 10 to 8.33 percent Christmas bonus.
“At our joint mediation sessions convened in January 2014 and subsequent statutory mediation sessions held during February to April 2014, our understanding has always been that the 2013/14 and 2014/15 wage negotiations were intertwined to attain a multi-wage agreement spread over two years from April 2013- March 2015,” read the letter from TNMC. The letter further said in view of the above, as well as repeated explanations that there were no salary provisions in the 2013 budget, the company was constrained to consider the employees’ proposal.
The letter further reads: “An offer of 4.5 percent under the current difficult situation is what we tabled at the mediation process and this offer remains unchanged. “Seeing that we have not agreed at our several own internal negotiations meetings, at the sessions presided over by the private mediator as well as at the Government mediator sessions, we feel obligated to award a salary adjustment to employees outside the bargaining unit.”
Last year October they were rumours that Norilsk were contemplating to close the mine in 2015, which could result in job losses for around 800 people. When contacted for comment TNMC Public Relations Manager Tebogo Rapitsenyane requested a questionnaire, which he had not responded to by the time of going to press.