Three-month strike set to end at Sibanye as miners back deal

Members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), whose members have been on strike at Sibanye-Stillwater's gold operations since 9 March, chant slogans at the Driefontein mine, near Carletonville, in the southwest of Johannesburg, 22 April. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union have been on strike at Sibanye's gold operations since 9 March.

A wage deal brokered by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will see general employees receive an increase of R1,000 a month in the first year of the agreement, R900 in the second year, and R750 in the third. Artisans and other skilled workers will receive a 5% increase in the first year, with increases in subsequent years linked to inflation.

The unions were demanding an increase of R1,000 a month over the next three years while Sibanye's last offer was an increase of R850 a month each year between 2022 and 2024, including a R50 increase in a "living-out" allowance.

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A NUM spokesperson confirmed the unions had agreed to end the strike.

"Yes, the strike is over. We're just waiting for the documentation and the signing of the agreement," NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said. Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted said the agreement could be signed next week.

The final agreement will be extended to all employees including members of the Uasa and Solidarity unions, Sibanye said.