NUM and AMCU concluded a three-year wage agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater in the gold sector

Press Statement, 12 June 2022

NUM and AMCU concluded a three-year wage agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater in the gold sector

The National Union of Mineworkers  (NUM) and Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) signed a  3-year wage agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater early hours of Saturday morning (11 June 2022).

The wage agreement, signed late early hours of Saturday morning, ends a three month strike first called by the NUM and AMCU on March 8. It had been preceded by around eight months of negotiations that started in June 2021.  .

The duration of this Agreement shall be for a period of 3 (three) years from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2024 and shall remain in force and effect until amended or replaced by a new agreement.

This Agreement shall apply to and bind the Company as well as the Unions and their members and all other permanent employees employed by the Company in the Category 4 – 8, Miners & Artisans and Officials recognition units ("the Bargaining Unit").

“The NUM wishes to express its sincere gratitude  to its members at Sibanye-Stillwater for the manner in which they behaved during the negotiation period until they gave us the mandate to sign this  wage agreement. Our members are excited and they gave us the mandate to sign a wage agreement,” said William Mabapa, NUM General Secretary.

"The pressure that the NUM and AMCU exerted on Sibanye Stillwater through the rolling mass actions and strike to force the company and the  to sign the wage agreement has yielded good results for our members," Mabapa added.

The agreement is as follows:

Hardship Allowance

1. . The Company shall pay all employees a once-off Hardship allowance of R3000 (Three Thousand Rands) to be allocated as stipulated below.
2. . The Company shall pay employees a once off Hardship allowance of R1 200 (One Thousand Two Hundred Rand). The Company shall deduct the value of R1 800 (One Thousand Eight Hundred Rand) from any amount owed by the employees to the Company, including but not limited to other payments made on behalf of employees to Third Parties.
3. . In the event that the employee does not owe any money to the Company in terms of clause 6.2  of the wage agreement, the employee will receive the full R3000 (Three Thousand Rand) as a Hardship Allowance.
4. . In the event that the employee owes the Company less than R1800 (One Thousand Eight Hundred Rand) in terms of clause 6.2 of the wage agreement, the money owed will be settled and the remainder of the R1800 (One Thousand Eight Hundred Rand) will be paid to the employee.

NUM members at Sibanye-Stillwater are excited that the wage agreement was concluded without any violence, intimidation and loss of life. The 2022 wage negotiations were very tough as a result the negotiations took more than a year to be concluded. They were the longest wage negotiations in the history of NUM.

For more information, please contact

William Mabapa: NUM General Secretary:  082 880 4439

Livhuwani Mammburu, NUM National Spokesperson, 083 809 3257

Luphert Chilwane, NUM Media Officer, 083 809 3255

The National Union of Mineworkers
7 Rissik Street.
Cnr Frederick Johannesburg
Tel: 011 377 2111 Cell: 083 809 3257
Twitter: @Num_Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NUM/100860023402167