Mines could shed 200 000 jobs

12 Oct 2012

The mining sector in South Africa is expected to shed 200‚000 jobs over the next 10 years mainly due to high wage settlements and labour unrest‚ Loane Sharp‚ labour economist at employment services group Adcorp‚ said on Wednesday, 10 October 2012.

The country's mining sector employs about 523‚000 workers - far fewer than the 839‚000 it employed in the late 1980s.

"The 200‚000 estimate is based on historical trends in the mining sector. What we've noticed is that labour unrest results in long-term job losses‚" Sharp said.

Adcorp's employment index showed employment improved last month for the first time since April‚ rising at an annualised 1.61% after declines in August. This meant job gains of 25‚855 mainly as a result of opportunities in the services sectors.

The 25‚855 jobs partly reversed the decline of 82‚431 jobs observed in the four-month period between May and August.
Adcorp's employment index is regarded as a representative monthly barometer of employment trends in South Africa.

Adcorp found that over the past year‚ mining sector wages‚ including bonuses and overtime‚ increased 13.8% versus an 11.4% decline in labour productivity. "It reveals that the 25.2% absolute gap between labour costs and labour's contribution is now the highest in recorded history‚" Sharp said.

South Africa's mines were responding rationally to the wage demands and lower productivity by reducing their dependence on labour‚ he said.

"The labour unrest will simply accelerate their capital intensive projects in the mines and wider use of labour-saving mining methods‚" Sharp said.

The Adcorp employment index showed that the mining and manufacturing sectors lost 14‚000 jobs between them last month.

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za