Gold and rand tumble as SA mining unrest stirs up again
The latest bout of trouble in South Africa’s mining industry entered its second week on Monday with the country’s gold stocks index hitting an almost 12-year low and the rand down at levels last seen four years ago. Continue reading »
Amplats: smaller cuts, no-one pleased
South African mining firms are in a delicate position. Squeezed by falling commodity prices, production problems and labour unrest, they are trying to push on with plans to cut costs while treading carefully to keep workers onside.
On Friday, top global platinum producer Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) announced its decision to slash 6,000 jobs, a far cry from the 14,000 originally planned – but the main union AMCU rejected the announcement, and Amplats may find itself dragged back to the drawing board. Continue reading »
Colombia’s cafeteros end strike
Colombia’s coffee tastes sweeter, once again.
On Friday, the country’s cafeteros – or coffee growers- and the government finally came to an agreement that puts an end to a strike that has left several people wounded. Continue reading »
Huawei hit by protests over illegal workers in Indonesia
Huawei, the Chinese telecoms group, is the latest international investor to feel the brunt of Indonesia’s increasingly vocal trade union movement.
Union activists and current and former employees have launched a campaign against what they say is Huawei’s use of illegal foreign workers, its union busting practices and other alleged violations of Indonesia’s tough labour laws. Continue reading »
South Africa: shootings increase the heat on Amplats [updated]
Five workers were reported to have been shot by security guards on Monday at an Anglo American Platinum mine in South Africa. With relations between the world’s largest platinum miner, its workforce and the South African government already strained, the incident will have significant repercussions. Continue reading »
Guest post: African mining changes the tune, but will actions follow?
The global mining industry could hardly be accused of being introspective. It’s a tough business, all about grade, costs and prices. Everything else is secondary. Nowhere has this attitude been more apparent in the past than at the annual Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
This year, the obligations of the industry as a development partner were front and centre in the main auditorium; the debate was as much about people and politics as it was about mining. The agenda has clearly changed. Continue reading »
Saudi Arabia’s Sabic facing un-Saudi problems
Saudi Basic Industries Corp, Saudi Arabia’s biggest publicly-traded company, has a very non-Saudi problem: striking workers.
The Riyadh-based petrochemicals behemoth is facing the wrath of the labour unions – not at home in the kingdom where such groups are banned but at its Chemicals Geleen plant in the Netherlands. Continue reading »
S Africa: Eskom under pressure
It’s been a tricky few days for South Africa’s electricity public utility Eskom. Strikes, controversy over political breakfasts, allegations of spying on unions and others, anger over price hikes: it’s a lot to contend with.
At Eskom’s Medupi site in Limpopo, strike action has halted construction of the R91bn ($10bn) coal-fired power plant. It was hoped work could resume on Thursday (Jan 24), but talks have yet to produce an agreement. Continue reading »
Gold Fields: fire and strikes dent profits
The effect of South Africa’s (mainly) mining strikes is being felt in company results and official data, one by one. On Tuesday it’s the big one – GDP – but on Monday it was the turn of miner Gold Fields, which reported a shrink in output and profits for the quarter.
The tone is set in the statement by chief executive Nick Holland: “The September quarter of 2012 will be remembered as one of the most challenging from an operational perspective…”, and continues in that vein for another 1,000 words. Continue reading »
GM: more trouble in Korea
Labour unions at GM’s Korean subsidiary are up in arms over the company’s plans to shed jobs and to move some production out of the country, as the carmaker launches a new early retirement programme for office workers.
It is GM’s second attempt so far this year to reduce its headcount as it tries to cut costs with European losses weighing on profits. Continue reading »
S Africa: miners’ leaders pledge to work for stability – but warn of risks
Leaders of South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Monday pledged to try to stabilise labour relations in the troubled industry.
But Frans Baleni, general secretary, and Senzeni Zokwana, president, told beyondbrics they could not give investors “guarantees” that there would be no resurgence of the strikes that caused so much disruption this year. Continue reading »
Escalating disputes between labour unions and employers in north Africa are threatening to derail economic recovery after the uprisings that ousted long-ruling dictators in the region, writes Farah Halime.
Emboldened by the spirit of political change, thousands of workers in Egypt and Tunisia have staged a series of protests and are now in deadlocked talks with companies over demands for a minimum wage. Continue reading »
Rand relief as truckers agree pay deal
It’s been a tough old week for the South African rand. On Monday (October 8) it broke the 8.9 rand to the dollar barrier, weakening to levels not seen since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009.
But the pressure was somewhat relieved on Friday, with a little good news. The two-week truck drivers strike came to an end with a sizeable wage agreement. It helped nudge the rand back down to around 8.6 to the dollar. Continue reading »
SA: Amplats fires 12,000 workers
Another twist in the South African labour relations on Friday: Anglo American Platinum has fired 12,000 workers taking part in a three-week illegal strike.
That’s around a fifth of the company’s workforce. While there are precedents for big dismissals like this, the move comes at an extremely volatile moment – on Friday another striking miner was reportedly killed by a police rubber bullet during protests at Amplats Rustenburg mine. Continue reading »
[video] SA opposition calls for reform
Alec Russell, news editor, talks to Helen Zille, leader of South African opposition Democratic Alliance, about the recent social unrest connected with the mining industry and the outlook for the economy as a whole.
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