Cost of long-running platinum strike is enormous

He says the cost of the strike is enormous - it is estimated that already one fifth of SA's annual platinum production has been lost; the mining companies have already lost an estimated more than R9bn in earnings; while striking workers are said to have already lost almost R4bn in wages to date. But, Terblanche points out the longer term cost will be considerably higher if stockpiles are depleted and slow start-ups of shafts and operations delay new production. In addition, he says, once settlement is reached, the higher pay costs as well as possible back pay for lost wages during the strike, may also kick in, which could be a very hefty additional bill. Then, he adds, there is the difficult-to-quantify overall harm to the economy due to the losses of export production and wages, the potential for job losses as miners turn to less labour-intensive and therefore less vulnerable production methods, and the potential loss of investment as investors turn to more secure and stable destinations. Full Polity report

Trade unions affiliated to the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) are considering a solidarity strike to back Amcu, reports Fin24. Nactu president Joseph Maqhekeni said: 'We want to intensify the strike. The employer is not coming up with anything even though Amcu has revised its demand to be achieved over four years.' Amcu is an affiliate of Nactu. Full Fin24 report

Amplats, Implats and Lonmin have reiterated that the strike is causing irreparable damage to the sector and local economy. Business Report says the companies, in a joint statement, said they had lost nearly R10bn in revenues, but also pointed to the cost to communities around the mines in the platinum belt northwest of Johannesburg. And SA's largest labour grouping Cosatu, which includes Amcu's archrival the National Union of Mineworkers, said although it supported the call for a 'living wage', it accused the striking union of being irresponsible. 'We believe that it is irresponsible to take workers on such a long strike where there are no prospects of achieving the demands,' Cosatu said. Cosatu said the government should intervene to resolve the impasse. Full report in Business Report Full platinum producers' press statement

Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) agrees the continuing strike is counter-productive. SABC News quotes Contralesa president Setlamorago Thobejane as saying that the strike has passed the stage of employer, employees' dispute and has become a societal issue. Thobejane says their efforts to meet with Amcu representatives have failed. Amcu has warned Contralesa not to interfere in the proceedings, the report says. Full SABC News report

The difficulty is resolving the complex issues underlying the strike, says a Business Day report. It says that correspondence between the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), mining houses and the Chamber of Mines over the mediator's role in the wage talks has simply reconfirmed the difficulties of amicable bargaining in the mining sector post-Marikana, and emphasised the unlikelihood of a wage deal being struck without reference to the serious underlying tension driving militancy among mineworkers. Full Business Day report (subscription needed)

The CCMA's role is to encourage dialogue, bridge the gaps between the parties and hopefully find consensus. But Terry Bell in his Inside Labour column in Fin24 quotes CCMA director Nerine Kahn as Saying that the two-month long strike involves more that a battle about wages. 'There are many broader political and social issues at play,' she said. Full Fin24 report

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will, meanwhile, meet with the mining industry and unions on Thursday for a regularly scheduled forum aimed at bringing stability to the sector, reports Mining Weekly. Motlanthe's spokesperson Thabo Masebe said the meeting would have taken place even if there was no strike, but it could give the world's top platinum producers and the striking Amcu union a chance to meet for the first time since wage talks collapsed almost three weeks ago. The report says Motlanthe is the government's point man on labour tensions in the country's mining sector, but past meetings have done little to ease them. Full Mining Weekly report