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Jay Taylor: Rothschild is probably dropping gold LENDING, not gold itself
By Hilton Shone
Sunday Times, South Africa
Sunday, April 18, 2004
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2004/04/18/business/companies/comp01.asp
In an unprecedented move, Harmony Gold and three
major unions on Friday agreed to set up a joint task
force to examine the closure of up to six shafts at the
country's third-biggest gold miner.
The team, which is expected to be in place by
tomorrow or Tuesday, will report back on May 3 and
until then the retrenchment of up to 5,000 workers has
been placed on hold, Harmony and union officials say.
While mine management and unions have worked
together before -- most notably in a campaign against
gold sales by European central banks in 1999 -- this
is the first time they have teamed up to resolve a
dispute over job losses.
"This sets a precedent in dealing with disputes in the
mining industry," said Gwede Mantashe, general
secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM),
the country' s biggest labour representative.
"We are looking to create procedures that will move
away from a legalistic approach and put our minds to
finding lasting solutions."
Ferdi Dippenaar, Harmony's marketing director, agreed,
saying the objective of the task force was "to not lose
jobs. The team will evaluate those shafts earmarked for
possible closure and review the entire process."
The task force would consist of experts in finance,
geology, and management and would "look at saving
jobs and creating more opportunities to the benefit of
all Harmony stakeholders."
Another trade union, Solidarity, said it, the NUM, and
the United Officials Association had established a joint
trade union forum that would act together to halt any
retrenchments.
"We are convinced that new efficiency plans can
expand Harmony's activities and that workers only
need to be re deployed instead of being laid off," said
Solidarity's Andr van der Merwe.
Harmony chairman Patrice Motsepe was not available
for comment but said last week that he was "quite
confident" of a solution.
This view was echoed on Friday by chief executive
Bernard Swanepoel, who noted that the company had
"always worked together with the unions and
associations ... to face our challenges. I am confident
that this will again be the case."
Harmony announced on April 2 that it might close the
shafts -- accounting for 6 percent of its annual gold
output of around 4 million ounces and almost 10 percent
of its workforce -- due to the strong rand and a lack of
mineable reserves.
Local gold mines receive payment for their product in
dollars and the stronger rand has all but eroded
operating margins at most South African operations.
NUM cried foul when Harmony announced the proposed
closures and threatened to withdraw from an agreement
to work continuous operations ("conops"), saying the
deal had been concluded in bad faith.
Harmony argues that conops -- which entail working
seven days a week instead of the current 11 days each
fortnight -- will save jobs as some of the workers at the
shafts under threat of closure can be deployed elsewhere
within the Harmony group to meet the additional demand
for labour.
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