Sibanye-Stillwater loses its moral compass after lock-out notice 

9 March 2022

Solidarity will approach the Labour Court on an urgent basis to obtain an interdict against the lock-out that will be applied to its members at Sibanye-Stillwater. This comes after Solidarity members today received a notice informing them that they would be locked out from the workplace despite Solidarity’s acceptance of Sibanye-Stillwater’s wage offer last week.

“In terms of the lock-out notice, the majority of members of all the unions involved have to accept an offer before a settlement can be reached. This implies that Solidarity’s members who have accepted the offer will also be locked out, and the principle of no work, no pay will apply,” explained Riaan Visser, deputy general secretary for the Mining, Agriculture and Chemical Industry at Solidarity.

Solidarity contends that this move by Sibanye-Stillwater makes it clear that by punishing and bullying its loyal employees the company has lost its moral compass. 

“This action is thus indicative of why the company is facing an unprecedented second consecutive strike following a previous strike in 2019, which is simply an indication of the company’s poor labour relations,” said Visser. “Sibanye-Stillwater’s culture of contempt for employees is also one of the main reasons why the company was the most dangerous mining house in the industry to work for in 2021.”

Solidarity calls on the company to reconsider its immoral decision because, while Solidarity’s members have the interests of the company at heart, they are being treated with contempt.

“Sibanye-Stillwater’s executive will have to reflect on how the company has lost its moral compass under its management and that, on top of the aforementioned, the company now also does not respect employees’ right to accept a wage offer, especially after some of the company’s negotiators had given an undertaking to Solidarity that this would not happen,” concluded Visser.

Issued by Riaan Visser, Deputy General Secretary: Mining, Agriculture and Chemical Industry, 9 March 2022