OPINION & ANALYSIS
DRD's threat to close mines leaves a bitter taste
By Max Gebhardt
The decision by Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRD) to announce the possible closure of two mines, coupled with the threat of 13 000 jobs being lost, could not have been more poorly timed - unless it was deliberate.
At a time when wage negotiations in the mining industry are about to explode into a strike, DRD's threat is like throwing a lit match into a tinderbox.
This is not the first time that DRD is likely to run into labour problems. Its relationship with the National Union of Mineworkers has, at best, been cordial. But why bring up the threat of mine closures at this moment in time? Is it just some crude form of negotiating tactic with respect to NUM and its wage demands?
It certainly comes across that way. If this is the case, it is going to harden attitudes, not soften them.
As Brett Kebble pointed out in a Business Day article: "Without a pact that saw the labour force accept low wages, neither Harmony nor DRD would be around today."
Terry Bell, a labour columnist for Business Report, has also pointed out that the miners were unlikely to forget that the companies and their bosses reported extraordinary profits just two years ago, none of which was shared with its workers.
To now be talking about firings comes across in very poor taste.
Yes, one understands that DRD is to some extent a victim of circumstances beyond its control - the rand price of gold for example - but management must accept its share of blame.
DRD's constant finding of external excuses is starting to wear thin.
Just a couple of months ago DRD executives were attacking Tito Mboweni, the governor of the Reserve Bank, blaming his monetary stance for the state of the gold producers' quarterly results.
Questions must surely be asked.
If management had been spending as much time focusing on its operations as it has pursuing the Kebbles through the courts, would it now be in this predicament?
Perhaps the DRD executive should lead the way and announce a wage cut at board level. Then perhaps we will believe that the situation is dire. MG
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