Relevant South African legislation

Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995

Aims to promote economic development, social justice, labour peace and democracy in the workplace. It applies to all employers, workers, trade unions and employers’ organisations.

The primary objectives of this Act are to:

• to give effect to and regulate the fundamental rights conferred by section 27* of the Constitution;
• to give effect to obligations incurred by the Republic as a member state of the International Labour Organization;
• to provide a framework within which employees and their trade unions, employers and employers’ organisations can collectively bargain to determine wages, terms and conditions of employment and other matters of mutual interest; and formulate industrial policy; and
• to promote orderly collective bargaining; collective bargaining at sectoral level; employee participation in decision-making in the workplace; and the effective resolution of labour disputes.

* A section in the chapter on Fundamental Rights which deals with labour practices.

Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998

Applies to all employers and workers and protects workers and job seekers from unfair discrimination, and also provides a framework for implementing affirmative action.

The purpose of the Act is to achieve equity in the workplace, by:

• promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination; and
• implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups, to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce.

Mine Health and Safety Act, 29 of 1996

Provides for protection of the health and safety of employees and other persons at mines. It aims to promote a culture of health and safety.

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 28 of 2002

In terms of the previous mining legislation in South Africa, mineral rights were held privately and in some instances by the state. The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) now vests all mineral rights in the state. Through the transitional provisions included in the MPRDA, mining companies can convert their existing ‘old order’ rights to prospect and/or mine (previously granted under the now repealed Minerals Act) to the ‘new order’ rights introduced by the MPRDA.

The Act has a number of objectives, including to:

• promote equitable access to the nation’s mineral and petroleum resources to all the people of South Africa;
• substantially and meaningfully expand opportunities for historically disadvantaged persons, including women, to enter the mineral and petroleum industries and to benefit from the exploitation of the nation’s mineral and petroleum resources;
• promote economic growth and mineral and petroleum resources development in the country;
• provide for security of tenure in respect of prospecting, exploration, mining and production operations;
• give effect to section 24* of the Constitution by ensuring that the nation’s mineral and petroleum resources are developed in an orderly and ecologically sustainable manner while promoting justifiable social and economic development; and
• ensure that holders of mining and production rights contribute towards the socio-economic development of the areas in which they are operating.

* This states that everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being and to have the environment protected through reasonable legislative measures.

Mining Charter

The Mining Charter is intended to bring about widespread socio-economic transformation in South Africa’s mining industry. It was developed collaboratively by government and the industry and ratified in October 2002 following the enactment of the MPRDA.

Transformation, as envisaged by the Mining Charter, is an imperative for mining companies active in the South African mining sector. They are required to convert their mineral rights from so-called ‘old order’ to ‘new order’ if they wish to mine on the properties concerned. The Mining Charter stipulates that those seeking conversions will have to have sold, for fair value, 15% of the production of their South African assets to black South Africans or women by 2009. The ownership objective for 2014 is 26%.

As a further step in the transition towards a new system of regulating mining rights, the Mining Scorecard was published in February 2003 to assist in the assessment of companies’ applications for ‘new order’ rights. It sets out a number of transformation criteria as a pre-requisite for conversions.

The nine broad criteria are as follows:

• Human resources development
• Employment equity
• Migrant labour
• Mine community and rural development
• Housing and living conditions
• Procurement
• Ownership and joint ventures
• Beneficiation
• Reporting