The chronicles of BMWU, BCL wage dispute

Onalenna Kelebeile | Friday September 26, 2014 14:39

 

The time in between is splattered with demands and threats by the Union.

At one point it demanded that BCL board chairman Dr Akolang Tombale should sack the mine’s General Manager Daniel Mahupela and Divisional Manager of Organisational Capabilities Motsile Sibanda. Then union members threatened to boycott the October 24 general elections as well as to embark on a strike.

The lengthy negotiations came against a background of low metal prices, low budget production, and revenue losses recorded in the last financial year. The mine had also projected losses for the 2014 financial year. There would also be other operational challenges. To that end management had issued a statement in June explaining the financial position of the company.

The statement mentioned low production, mainly due to diminishing cut and fill ore, which has declined from 80 percent to 30 percent of overall production at Phikwe Central.

“The mine also delivered below budget ore tons to the concentrator, impacting negatively on metal produced at the smelter and revenue,” the statement noted .

It further stated that ore from the cut and fill stopes would no longer be available after 2014 as the stopes would have been depleted by then. Initially, management offered a four percent increase across the board on basic salaries and P60 increase across the board on housing allowance.

However, the union rejected the offer. BMWU demanded 11 percent across the board on actual basic salaries and adjustment of annual bonus from five percent to 8.33 percent of annual salary. It also demanded adjustment of housing allowance by P250 across the board as well as a salary structure review.

The standoff resulted in the parties declaring a deadlock and invoked the dispute resolution procedure within a seven day cool off period during which the parties had to consul their principals. The parties’ positions remained the same when they met again, and so did the situation remain unchanged in May and in June.

In another attempt to find an amicable settlemen, management returned to the negotiating table with an improved mandate for consideration by the union. It presented a five percent increase across the board and P80 increase across the board on housing allowance. The other option was a six percent increase across the board on basic salaries while the other option was a differentiated increase according to job grades.

The improved mandate according to the mine, took into account both the immediate welfare needs of employees and the long-term sustainability of BCL. Management maintained that the offer of a six percent salary adjustment under the current business climate is a reasonable offer to mitigate against inflation.

However, the union declined the offer and indicated it would only accept a 12 percent increase across the board contrary to their previous closing position of 11 percent.  The negotiations broke down, and the parties signed a Joint Statement of Dispute, to allow mediation to kick in. All that happened in June.

In the same month the mine signed a salary increase agreement with its Citizen Senior Staff Union (BCSSU). This increment entailed a 30/70 split (30 percent across the board and 70 percent performance based increase) translating into increases ranging from 1.8 percent to eight percent on actual basic salaries for employees in BCSSU’s bargaining unit.

While BMWU declined the six percent offer by BCL, it signed for the same with other mines such as Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC) and Galani Gold. It denied any double standards in its negotiations, arguing it did not have a bargaining council where there was one bargaining body across the mines, but each mine had a negotiating team.  “Our demands differ across the mines and it depends on the mandate given from members of the particular branch. It would be double standards if there was a negotiating council in place,” BMWU spokesperson, Joseph Tsimako had said.

He explained that in the mines where they signed for the six percent increase, they had considered that the minimum wage was P3,000 against BCL P1,800 hence their demand. Then in July, after learning that salary negotiations had collapsed, union members decided they would go on strike. In the same month the two parties (BCL and BMWU) received an Advisory Award from the mediator (Department of Labour) who pleaded with them to revisit their positions. But then as negotiations were ongoing, the mine had effected a six percent increase for non-unionised employees. The union decided that was an indication negotiations had collapsed, and as such there was no need to go back to the negotiating table.

In August the two parties worked on the rules of strike that they both confirmed. The mine produced the initial draft for discussion with the union, but the union requested for time to draft their own rules of strike for the mine to consider. In the same month union members took a decision to boycott the coming general elections if their demands still fell on deaf ears.

Their issue was that they had not received any feedback from BCL board chairman Dr Tombale since their petition in May. They argued the fact government wholly owned BCL meant Dr Tombale reported to the Minister of Minerals Energy and Water Resources. As such, they said govern was a coconspirator with the mine. However, on Monday September 15, almost miraculously, the parties came to an understanding, and drew the curtain on the imminent strike and general election boycott.

The mine would award a six percent increase across the board. The parties also agreed on a review of the pay structure that would be undertaken in accordance with the terms of reference. They also agreed on the project plan that they would together develop.

“We commend the negotiating teams for their relentless endeavor to deliver this outcome and we thank the employees for exercising restraint and patience during the lengthy period of engagement,” mine GM Mahupela said in a statement following the resolution.

The union on the other hand said it was “happy” that they had finally reached a settlement with the mine. That however, does not mean the dust has settled.

“ …but we have deferred the issue of housing to the next financial year,” said Tsimako.