Mining News
Sibanye-Stillwater receives strike notice from two South African unions
(Kitco News) - Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE: SBSW), one of the world's largest primary producers of platinum group metals, announced today that it has received strike notice from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union and the National Union of Mineworkers.
The company said that the unions intend to embark on protected strike action at Sibanye-Stillwater's South African (SA) gold operations, from the evening shift on Wednesday, 9 March 2022.
CEO Neal Froneman stated, "It is very disappointing that the two unions have chosen this course of action despite our ongoing engagement in an attempt to reach agreement on wages since June 2021. The offer we made on 4 February 2022 is fair, taking into consideration current inflationary living costs, considers the sustainability of the SA gold operations and the interests of all stakeholders for the long term. The offer is final; wage increases that are higher than inflation are not sustainable and cannot be considered."
He added that there are no winners in a strike and that not only would strike action undermine employment and the livelihoods of many people who depend on the SA gold operations, but "employees will gain little to nothing from it."
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"We urge employees to carefully consider the consequences of strike action on them personally and collectively. Strike action will only serve to jeopardise the sustainability of our gold operations and, ultimately, their futures," concluded Froneman.
Sibanye-Stillwater is one of the world's largest primary producers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium and is also a top tier gold producer. It produces other PGMs, such as iridium and ruthenium, along with chrome, copper and nickel as by-products.
The company has recently begun to build and diversify its asset portfolio into battery metals mining and processing and is increasing its presence in the circular economy by growing and diversifying its recycling and tailings reprocessing operations globally.
