De Beers Marine, NUM Sign Wage Agreement

De Beers Marine and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Monday signed an annual agreement, ending wage negotiations between the two parties. The agreement guarantees an 8.5 percent wage increase for C1 band employees, 9.5 percent for B band and 10 percent for A3 band (the portion of A band workers who receive the lowest salary).  

The workers’ salaries range from R3,964 ($551.56) for the A3 band employees to R8,570 ($1,192.17) for those in the C band.

As part of the wage settlement, De Beers and NUM also agreed to a seagoing allowance of R120 ($16.68) for each night spent on board, as well as a bonus system awarded along the lines of De Beers Marine’s employee performance management scheme.

Recently, the NUM was reported as claiming that De Beers Mining had reneged on an agreed wage increase and that they were threatening a strike at the marine mining unit. NUM negotiator Peter Bailey said that when the time came to sign the agreement, the company changed its offer. “We agreed to a combination of a sea-going allowance, a contract allowance and a meal allowance. We agreed to their R130 through our demand was R150.”

The trade union represents 50 of the 70 seagoing employees at De Beers’ marine mining operation, which has managed a single production vessel off the South African coast since May 2007, as well as a South African-based sampling production vessel, operating both in South African and Namibian waters.