JOHANNESBURG, November 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Gold Fields Limited (Gold Fields) (JSE:
GFI) (NYSE: GFI) yesterday received a notice by the National Union
of Mineworkers (NUM) of its intention to embark on a protected
strike at its South Deep operation in South Africa to protest retrenchments at the
mine. Under South African labour law, the union is required to give
48 hours' notice of its intention to strike. The strike is set to
commence tomorrow (2 November 2018)
afternoon.
About 80% of the mine's workforce are members of the union and,
should the strike proceed, it is expected to impact adversely on
production during its duration. Safety of employees is paramount
and, if deemed necessary, South Deep would also consider cessation
of production for a limited period of time.
As part of a wide-ranging restructuring announcement to stem
South Deep's significant cash losses and consolidate current
operations, Gold Fields commenced a Section 189 process with the
mine's two registered trade unions, the NUM and UASA, on
14 August 2018. Under the auspices of
the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA),
mine management has engaged the branch leadership of the two unions
since then about various matters related to the section 189
process.
Consultations have been extensive with various options explored
to improve the sustainability of the mine and limit job losses.
This included an offer of voluntary severance packages, which was
taken up by 177 employees.
Despite these efforts South Deep still has to reduce its
workforce by approximately 1,100 staff members and retrenchment
letters were sent to these employees on 31
October 2018. In addition, the mine will reduce the number
of contractors by approximately 420 people.
The selection criteria used to determine which employees would
be affected were part of the Section 189 consultations and included
length of service, performance and competency criteria and
attendance records. Prior to the commencement of the Section 189
process South Deep employed 3,614 full-time employees and 2,214
contractors.
"We have reached a critical stage in the restructuring at South
Deep, which follows on previous unsuccessful initiatives to improve
productivity," said Gold Fields CEO Nick
Holland. "The restructuring will help to reduce the risk of
continuing operating losses and consolidates the current mining
operations as a first step to building a sustainable, long-term
operation. Unfortunately, the retrenchments and the reduction in
contractor numbers have become essential to ensure this and save
the remaining 3,500 jobs."
"South Deep has a substantial and well-understood ore body and
we believe that we can bring this into profitable production over
the next few years which will benefit all stakeholders, including
the Westonaria communities and the South African government,"
Holland added.
The 'no work, no pay' principle will apply for the strike. "We
respect the laws that allow for a peaceful, legal strike, but we
are very concerned about the further impact that industrial action
will have on the mine - and on our employees, with potentially more
job losses," Holland said.
Gold Fields will announce South Deep's latest production
performance as part of the Group's Q3 2018 operational update to be
released on 9 November 2018.
About Gold Fields
Gold Fields Limited is a globally diversified gold producer with
seven operating mines in Australia, Ghana, Peru
and South Africa, and a total
attributable annual gold-equivalent production of approximately 2.2
million ounces. It has attributable gold Mineral Reserves of
around 49 million ounces and gold Mineral Resources of around 104
million ounces. Attributable copper Mineral Reserves total 764
million pounds and Mineral Resources 4,881 million pounds.
Gold Fields has a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange (JSE) Limited, with secondary listings on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Swiss Exchange (SIX).
Sponsor: J.P. Morgan Equities South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Enquiries
Investor
Avishkar Nagaser
Tel: +27-11-562-9775
Mobile: +27-82-312-8692
Email: Avishkar.Nagaser@goldfields.com
Thomas Mengel
Tel: +27-11-562-9849
Mobile: +27-72-493-5170
Email: Thomas.Mengel@goldfields.com
Media
Sven Lunsche
Tel: +27-11-562-9763
Mobile: +27-83-260-9279
Email:Sven.Lunsche@goldfields.com
SOURCE Gold Fields Limited