Wage negotiations between management and workers at the Zondereinde division of Northam Platinum have been "derailed", the miner has said.

Talks yesterday (October 13th) broke down after the unions Solidarity and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) raised objections to the negotiations over certain classes of workers.

Both the NUM and Solidarity formally declared disputes with regard to the negotiations for semi-skilled (category 2 to 8) and skilled employees (category 9 and 10), Northam said in a statement.

In the case of the semi-skilled staff, the dispute was declared by the two unions after the company offered a 5.8 per cent pay rise.

The NUM wants an overall wage increase of 20 per cent, a doubling of the living out allowance and a near five-fold increase in the allowance payable to hostel residents.

In the skilled worker category, Northam is offering a pay rise worth 6.6 per cent in the first year and 6.8 per cent the following year.

The NUM demands a 12 per cent wage hike and a living out allowance increase of 58 per cent.

Zondereinde general manager Danny Gonsalves said: "This is a disappointing outcome for everyone concerned. We would really not have expected a dispute after such a limited engagement process."

Northam said it was confident of resolving the dispute without involving a third party.

Source:

Northam Platinum says in dispute with unions over wages (13/10/11)

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