Grootgeluk Strike Ends

The strike at Exxaro's Grootegeluk mine just outside Lephalale ended over the weekend when an agreement was reached between Exxaro and the National Union of Minewor-kers (NUM). Striking workers returned to the mine on Monday.
In terms of the agreement employees will each be paid a minimum of R2 800 in respect of quarter one of the company’s 2013 short-term incentive.
A central issue to the strike was the non-payment of 2012 performance incentives.
According to Exxaro performance targets were not met and it is not prepared to reward  employees with additional payments. Striking workers will also not receive pay for the time they were on strike.
Exxaro said in a statement this week that the company pleased with the outcome of the engagement between it and NUM, particularly as it has averted the possible negative effect that a prolonged strike could have had on Eskom’s electricity generation and the country’s economy as a whole.
The focus at the operations now will be to re-start operations as soon as possible after employees have returned to their duties and undergone safety and training interventions.

But Medupi still in doldrums
While South Africa is holding its breath to see if Medupi power station will meet its deadline and provide much needed electricity to the grid, reports surfaced on Tuesday of more strike action at the Medupi building site outside Lephalale.
This follows almost two months of strike action which ended two weeks ago. This time, however, it seems to be members of NUM and the Metal and Electrical Workers Union of South Africa (Mewusa) who are striking.
According to Lephalale police the striking workers used a flatbed truck to move stones and rubble onto the road leading to the Medupi site. 
The SABC reported that the unions embarked on an unprotected strike demanding bonuses which they forfeited during the previous strike. The spokespersons for NUM and Mewusa could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print.