Specialists conducting a safety inspection at Finsch diamond mine, near Lime Acres in the Northern Cape, before commencing with production drilling. File picture: Supplied
THE NATIONAL Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has inked a five-year wage agreement with Petra Diamonds effective from next month and giving employees at the diamond miner above-inflation salary increases.
Last week, the NUM signed another wage agreement for South32’s Hotazel Manganese Mines, while gold miner Pan African Resources also reached another agreement with the labour union this month in respect of salary increases over the next five years.
At Petra Diamonds, the NUM said the employer agreed to a “valid and binding five-year agreement for the NUM members within the A and B Paterson grades” for the period July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029.
The two grades are the recognised bargaining units for the company and the agreement was signed at the NUM’s head office in Johannesburg on Friday.
“The wage agreement is an extension of the 2021-2024 wage agreement between the parties on June 7, 2024. This agreement supersedes any other previous wage agreement between the parties,” said the NUM.
The workers’ union outlined the details of the agreement as encompassing the basic salary of the employees, excluding all allowances, non-salary related bonuses, gratuities and payments of a like nature.
The respective employees covered by the agreement will get salary increases of 6.25% in the first year, 5.75% in the second year and similar increase in the third year.
In the fourth and fifth years, the employees will be awarded a 6.5% wage increase respectively.
Masibulele Naki, chief negotiator for the NUM at Petra Diamonds, said the wage negotiations were extremely difficult and robust until they signed the wage agreement on Friday.
“We signed the wage agreement today under a very difficult situation where the NUM is facing two retrenchments at Cullinan and Finsch mines,” Naki said.
“We managed to negotiate for salary increases that we think will sustain jobs and also make sure that workers are happy.”
Last month, Petra Diamonds struck a long-term deal for the supply of renewable energy to its South African diamond mines as it seeks to secure sustainable power supply for its operations.
With South African miners susceptible to production disruptions from load shedding by Eskom, Petra Diamonds has turned to independent renewable energy suppliers while also helping to curb emissions from its operations.
The company announced that it had entered into long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the procurement of wheeled renewable energy for its Cullinan and Finsch diamond mines with Etana Energy, a licensed South African energy trader.
– BUSINESS REPORT