Social and Labour Plans

A Social and Labour Plan (SLP) is a document that sets out the commitments a mining company makes to its employees and impacted communities and how and when these objectives will be achieved. Every company is required by law – in this case Regulation 42 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) – to devise and submit a SLP to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) as a pre-requisite for the granting of a mining right. SLPs are normally required to be revised and resubmitted every five years during the life of a mining right.

As SLPs are closely aligned with the Mining Charter, each plan contains comprehensive information about projects, programmes and strategies that relate and are aligned to each of the pillars of the policy document. In the case of South Deep, the areas of focus of its SLP include:

• Human resource development;
• Employment equity;
• Mine community development;
• Housing and living conditions; and
• Procurement, supplier and enterprise development

South Deep’s SLP has been developed in consultation with critical stakeholders including trade unions, communities and the relevant local and provincial government authorities.

As South Deep is a largely mechanised mine and has a smaller, more highly-skilled workforce than most other gold mines, the primary focus of South Deep’s SLP plan is mine community development. The projects and initiatives outlined in this section of the SLP are designed to contribute to the socio-economic development and upliftment of the nine identified host communities and communities in its labour sending areas.

• View the SLP in English