Unions Set to Begin Mining Strike at Sibanye-Stillwater Over Wage Demands

LOCAL NEWS

• Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations are expected to grind to a halt on Wednesday after unions said yesterday they would embark on their long-threatened strike following months of negotiations over wages.
  • Unions said they remained open to negotiations to end the strike as they meet this morning with the CCMA. Sibanye-Stillwater’s latest, and supposedly final, revised wage offer is for a R700 increase and a R100 increase in the living out allowance annually for three years for surface and underground miners.
  • Artisans, miners and officials will get increases of 5% a year over the course of the multi-year agreement - MiningMX
• Energy expert Chris Yelland says the shutdown of Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear plant has posed massive risks to load-shedding in 2022. Eskom has doubled its shutdown period of the plant after delaying the decision for three years.
  • Load-shedding (rolling blackouts) are expected to continue today until 12 Match following multiple generating until failures at Eskom yesterday. Load-shedding is needed to replenish emergency reserves that have been used significantly since the past weekend. - EWN
• Ramaphosa says he will not comment on accepting nomination for a second terms as ANC president after the ANC’s Mpumalanga provincial task team called on him to do so. This follows recent political instability in Mpumalanga, resulting in delays to its political conferences – News24
• Economists say claims that petrol could reach R40/L in SA are unfounded, as the price of oil would need to spike to $400/bbl to make this forecast conceivable. Notes R24/L is a more realistic estimate based on the data and anything beyond is speculation – TimesLive

Data:

• 0930GMT: 4Q GDP yoy exp at 1.8% vs 2.9% prior
• 0930GMT: 4Q GDP SA QoQ exp at 1.2% vs -1.5% prior