South Africa’s mining lobby

South African Chamber of Mines is an organization that exists not only to conduct wage netotiations on behalf of its mining industry members. Indeed the chamber’s primary function is to act in the public policy arena as a lobbying and advocacy agency.

In fulfilling this role it seeks to engage policymakers in an effort to ensure that proposed legislative and regulatory enactments covering the extensive range of mining industry operations, do not impact detrimentally on the business of mining. In addition to proposed mining specific legislative enactments like the recently published Minerals Development Bill, Chamber attention in the policy formulation arena is also directed at areas such as health, education and training, the environment, labour, safety, immigration, water affairs, and taxation.

Without detracting from its obvious importance, the wage negotiation service which the Chamber performs on behalf of some of its members, essentially to companies in the gold and coal mining sectors which are signatories to a 1983 National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) recognition agreement, is just one of the multi-faceted activities undertaken by an organisation appropriately structured to meet the many challenges which confront the mining industry in contemporary South Africa.

The nature of this year’s negotiation did not present any difficulties or complications. In fact, they were conducted in much the same way as in previous years.

Over the last decade, certain chamber- affiliated companies have been restructured Consequently, the core chamber has been significantly downsized and it now has a total staff of just over 60from more than 600.

The changes that have taken place were aimed at creating a lobbying and advocacy organisation that occupies a credible position to effectively pursue its members’ best interests with representatives of South Africa’s government. Today’s Chamber is a lively and dynamic entity strongly committed to the future of South Africa and the development of an environment that will provide suitable opportunity for the mining industry to create wealth for the benefit of all South Africans.

— The preceding is from a publication of the Johannesburg-based South African Chamber of Mines. The author it its chief executive officer.