“Am I getting paid on a fair basis for what I’m having to deal with in this company? Must I run this company and deal with all this nonsense for nothing? I’m at work. I’m not on strike. I’m not demanding to be paid what I’m not worth.” Anglo American Platinum chief executive officer Chris Griffith on his 2013 salary of 17.6 million, bonuses for him and 11 other executives and top management over three years in a share scheme of R 25,3 million and performance bonuses of 51,8 million. (bit.ly/S2kngv). Mr Giffins has subsequently said the timing of comments he made about being paid fairly while a strike at the mine continues was seemingly insensitive. “I wish to apologise to the employees of Anglo American Platinum and the readership for comments I made in a Business Day article on Wednesday,” Griffith said in a statement. “My choice of words was inappropriate and a poor way to describe the extremely challenging situation we find ourselves in.” (bit.ly/TdAN6D) Really Mr. Griffins, you think??? The timing was wrong? Your comments were seemingly insensitive? Your choice of words inappropriate? It is a poor way to describe the extremely challenging situation we find ourselves in? Mr Griffins, what about the underlying value you place on human beings when you imply your workers are not worth a living wage. When you say you cannot afford to pay a living wage, you are saying you cannot afford to pay your workers what they require to live. You are in effect saying their life is worth less than your profits. Do people deserve to live in the squalor you, your company and industry have forced them to live in for over 100 years? Do they deserve to have a life expectancy of less than 52 years? Do they deserve the lack of and inadequate education they are able to provide their children on the wages you provide? Do they and their children deserve having no way to break free from extreme poverty as a result of their pay? Do they deserve for their children to face hidden hunger because they cannot afford adequate nutrition on the wages you pay? Do they deserve to not have access to clean drinking water and for their children to get sick as a result while your children can urinate in the clean drinking water in the swimming pool at your holiday home? Mr Griffins, you keep saying you cannot afford to pay a living wage. Please tell us the truth. The additional cost of paying a living wage to workers is estimated at R 4.5 billion a year. Your operating profits reported on your website show consistent increase in returns. In 2011 they were 7.91 Billion. the truth is you can afford it, you just cannot return the same profits to your shareholders. Come on! perhaps you need to make some cuts... but cut where it will not impact on human life and dignity... make cuts for your shareholders of executive pay and ensure that the mineworkers can also enjoy the benefit of their perilous labour. Mr Griffins, you have the chance to bring an end to the extreme exploitation of mineworkers in this country and the extreme poverty they face if you will only place value on their lives and deal with your own and your shareholders greed!
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 09:34:12 +0000
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