JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Impala Platinum (Implats) have reached a two-year wage deal, effective July 2016 until June 2018, for workers at Implats' refinery operation, in Springs.

The 1 000 workers at the operation, of which about half are NUM members, will now see a basic wage increase of 7.5% to 10% over the two-year agreed period.

“The NUM elected to initiate industrial action on Tuesday last week, and we ultimately concluded the wage agreement on Friday evening,” Implats spokesperson Johan Theron said.

Entry level B-lower and B-upper employees will receive a 10% hike a year, while B5 workers will receive an 8.5% increase backdated to July 2016 and again in July 2017.

The B7 and C-lower workers will receive a 8% hike in the first year starting July 2016 and a 7.5% increase in 2017.

Medical subsidies will also increase from the current R490 to R524 in 2016 and R561 in 2017, with subsidies increasing to R377 and R228 respectively for the first dependant and other dependants by 2017.

Accommodation allowances have also increased, with B-lower and B-upper workers receiving a R2 460 allowance, up from the current R2 365, before increasing to R2 632 in 2017.

B5 and B7 workers get an increase from R2 870 to R2 985 in 2016 and to R3 194 in 2017, while C-lower workers will not receive an increase on the current R5 343 allowance in 2016, but will receive an increase to R5 557 in 2017.

The parties also agreed that the four-shift cycle shift allowance will increase from the current 13% to 13.5%.

“NUM members at Impala Platinum Refineries are quite pleased and excited that the wage agreement was concluded without any strike, violence, intimidation and loss of life,” NUM said in a statement.

“We are pleased to have secured a negotiated settlement following the industrial action last week. The wage agreement, in our opinion, provides a reasonable compromise between worker expectations, wage inflation in our economy and the economic realities that dictate the financial sustainability of our business,” the company said on Monday.