The bargaining unit employees have started strike action this morning at the mine's main gate after a proposed settlement agreement between the Company and the MUN Branch Executive was not accepted by employees.

The two parties had earlier drafted a memorandum of understanding to settle the bonus dispute, and they had agreed on a set of principles, which can be summarised

• The Company would pay employees an amount of N$15 200 by 30 September 2011.
  

• The company would also pay the Q4 production incentive payment conditional on the parties reviewing and signing an agreed set of agreements by December 31 2011. The payment would depend on the safety and production performance achieved in the quarter, but the amount would have varied between N$2 100-N$5 150 bringing the total potential payment from N$17 300 to N$20 350 by January 2012.
  

As a result of the industrial action the Company has now activated contingency measures to ensure that employee safety is protected and the impact on the operation is minimised.

The Company will still continue with the filed Labour Court proceedings that seek to declare the N$30 000 payment demand by the bargaining unit employees as a dispute of right which entails that the outcome of this dispute should be determined through a court process.

The Company management continues to explore all the possible avenues to ensure that this issue is resolved amicably to minimise the impact of protracted industrial action which benefits no-one.

Chris Salisbury
Managing Director

Enquiries:

Jerome Mutumba
081 1290195
+264 64 520 3044