Some time has passed since that fateful Thursday afternoon at Lonmin's Marikana mine. Without abrogating from the human-tragedy, you have to ask whether Father Time has finally caught up with SA mining companies? I think it has. Here's why.
Productivity in the mining industry is a measurement of sale-able tonnes per man year (tpmy). ie: the number of tonnes mined / sold averaged across the labour-force.
For illustration - a coal-mining comparison between South Africa, USA and Australia. Sale-able tpmy for the three countries aggregated across underground and surface-mining for each country is as follows:
USA - 9000 tpmy*
Australia - 7000 tpmy*
South Africa - 3000 tpmy*
*Although the data is fairly dated, the ratio holds true. South Africa's productivity figure is less than 50% of Australia's figure and or 33% of the USA figure.. Some small anomalies aside, the discrepancies in productivity, particularly in South Africa's case, is directly related to technology and work-practice. The SA mining industry's objective of job creation and or maintaining employment at the highest levels (whilst remaining profitable), although commendable and encouraged at State-level, is under the current circumstances, unsustainable.
The associated physical and psychological trauma from mine violence and intimidation respectively must, sooner rather than later, reverse the current labour-intensive work-practices in favour of technology. The ensuing elimination of jobs by SA's largest employer will be, undoubtedly, the single worst economic tragedy this country will face, this century, thus far.
Productivity in the mining industry is a measurement of sale-able tonnes per man year (tpmy). ie: the number of tonnes mined / sold averaged across the labour-force.
For illustration - a coal-mining comparison between South Africa, USA and Australia. Sale-able tpmy for the three countries aggregated across underground and surface-mining for each country is as follows:
USA - 9000 tpmy*
Australia - 7000 tpmy*
South Africa - 3000 tpmy*
*Although the data is fairly dated, the ratio holds true. South Africa's productivity figure is less than 50% of Australia's figure and or 33% of the USA figure.. Some small anomalies aside, the discrepancies in productivity, particularly in South Africa's case, is directly related to technology and work-practice. The SA mining industry's objective of job creation and or maintaining employment at the highest levels (whilst remaining profitable), although commendable and encouraged at State-level, is under the current circumstances, unsustainable.
The associated physical and psychological trauma from mine violence and intimidation respectively must, sooner rather than later, reverse the current labour-intensive work-practices in favour of technology. The ensuing elimination of jobs by SA's largest employer will be, undoubtedly, the single worst economic tragedy this country will face, this century, thus far.
No comments:
Post a Comment