Volume 6, Issue 5

June 2010

It is with some sadness that LA Crushers has wound up its

operations in Mpumalanga following the completion of our final

BHP Billiton contract in the area. It is always a source of deep

regret when employees must be re-trenched. However, in this

global economic climate the company decided that the most

prudent strategy to follow was one of consolidation and playing to

our many strengths in Limpopo. Management was pleased to be

able to accommodate most employees from Mpumalanga who

chose to remain with the company and re-locate to Phalaborwa

and we look forward to incorporating their skills into our local

workforce. The bulk of the machine fleet from Middelburg has

been put to work in Phalaborwa already.

LA Crushers is entering an important period of consolidation and

expansion in Phalaborwa, to which end a number of new contracts

have been secured. Management has complete faith in the skill

and commitment of employees to ensure that all targets are met

and/or exceeded both on the new contracts and those that we

have been fortunate to have for some time. LAC must take this

opportunity to prove our reliability and versatility, whilst main-

taining the strictest control over costs and efficiencies. Every

person can play their part in ensuring the sustainable profitability

of the company, and every person can benefit from that profitabil-

ity into the future.

We wish to thank all employees of the Mpumalanga

Division for their efforts in the past and wish them

every success in the future.

CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH! A FAREWELL TO

MPUMALANGA

Page 2 CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!

WAGE AGREEMENT REACHED

Following an amicable CCMA meeting on 17 May 2010, LA

Crushers management was pleased to announce that agree-

ment had been reached with the NUM on the structure of this

year’s pay agreement. The agreement reflects the following:

1. The company will pay a Housing Allowance of R300 per month effective from 01 June 2010. This allowance will no longer be linked to the cash flow.

2. The company will implement the following annual wage increase effective from 01 April:

Band 1 – 10%

Band 2 – 10%

Band 3 – 9%

Band 4 to Band 7 – 8%.

Back-pay in respect of April will be paid at the end of June 2010. Back-pay in respect of May will be paid at the end of July 2010. These increases apply to all employees with more than one year’s service.

3. The company will introduce a minimum wage for Band 1 employees of R3500 per month, excluding the Housing Allowance. Any employee with less than one year’s service will receive the minimum wage or a 10% increase, as applicable, on the anniversary of their engagement.

4. The company will apply a night-shift allowance of R35 per shift across the board.

5. The company will pay a medical aid contribution of R300 per month in respect of any employee who is a member of, or who joins, a medical aid. This contribution will be paid directly to the medical aid.

6. In addition the company will implement a five year plan for Band 1 and 2 employees. Band 1 employees will receive 3% more than the agreed wage increase each year until 2015.

Band 2 employees will receive 1% more than the agreed wage increase each year until 2015 . These increases are dependant upon an annual positive cash flow of R12 million or on the company achieving an annual net profit exceeding 5%. Cash flow and/or nett profit amounts will increase in accordance with the annual CPI indices.

THE WORLD CUP IS HERE! So finally, after all the years of waiting, the World Cup

is here. South Africa is proud to host this incredible spectacular and judging by the flags

flying, Bafana shirts on display and vuvuzelas honking there is no shortage of enthusi-

asm. LAC is behind the event, hugely supportive of the team and just as excited as the

rest of the country about the weeks of competition to come. However, we must urge

caution. Don’t allow your excitement to over-rule your common sense. Work does not

stop because of a sports event. LAC has a number of important

contracts to fulfil and our commitments can only be met if everyone

turns up on time and fully fit to work. Absenteeism will not be toler-

ated and LAC’s zero tolerance towards any unsafe act will be strictly

enforced. Arriving at work too tired to do your job effectively because

you have been watching all the soccer games is just as dangerous and

unacceptable as turning up drunk. Be sensible and responsible and

let’s all enjoy the World Cup - in the knowledge that if we do so

properly we will all still have jobs to go back to when it is over.

LOST TIME

INJURY-FREE

HOURS

LAC’s next

company target is

one million lost-time injury-free

hours. Our goal is to never suffer

another disabling injury. Together

we can make that objective a reality

simply be enforcing a zero tolerance

for all unsafe acts and remaining

alert and pro-active at all times.

LTI-free hours to 15 May 2010

stood at 831,257 hours with a

DIFR rate of 0.

WELCOME! To Lucky Mashimbye, who recently

joined LAC as a mechanic at the

Workshop.

CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH! Page 3 CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!

LAC AT PUMP BATCH PLANT WIN PMC

GENERAL MANAGER’S SAFETY AWARD

We are delighted to congratulate the LAC team at the PUMP Batch Plant for being awarded PMC’s General Manager’s Safety Award for their performance in December 2009.

The team were nominated for this award for a number of reasons,

amongst them that there has been no injury on this site since Febru-

ary 2006. The team were also commended for their willingness to

work over-time on weekends at very short notice, for no absenteeism

in December 2009 and for no cases of intoxication. In addition PMC

highlighted that house-keeping has improved at the Batch Plant, as

has the quality of concrete and the batch plant availability.

Congratulations to the Batch Plant - keep up the good work!

Left: Shift A with (back,

left to right) PMC Gen-

eral Manager: Mining

Dawid Pretorius, Lester

Machete (LAC Batch

Plant Manager), Law-

rence Mokgalaka (PMC

Mining Engineer) and

Riaan Prinsloo (LAC

Batch Plant Supervisor).

LAC FLYS THE FLAG AT THE KINGFISHER PRIVATE SCHOOL GOLF DAY

LAC was pleased to support the fundraising

efforts of Kingfisher Private School by en-

tering two teams for their Golf Day, held on

Saturday 22 May 2010. LAC Team 1

(pictured top right) featured (left to right)

Brandon Swanepoel (PMC), Elmarie Horn,

Liesl Nienaber (LAC) and Marius Porteus

(Foskor).

LAC Team 2 (pictured bottom

left) featured (left to right) Christiaan Terblanche (Foskor), Johan

Smith (LAC), Johan de Jongh (Foskor) and Pieter Jacobs (Foskor).

The Bill Smith Plant Hire

team (pictured bottom

right) also had a strong LAC

presence with (left to right)

Theo Ackermann (Foskor),

Dave Millar (LAC), Wikus Erasmus (LAC) and Leon Kitsoff (Foskor).

A great day was had by all, funds were raised for a worthy cause

and LAC even got into the prizes, courtesy of Liesl and Elmarie!

Soccer is a game in which a handful of men run around for

one and a half hours, watched by millions of people who could really use the exercise…..

CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH! Page 4 CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!CRUSH!

IN SYMPATHY: We would like

to offer condolences from all at LAC to

Joseph Mashaba who lost a brother

during May. Our thoughts are with you.

This month we sit down with Lester Machete, LAC’s 2.6.1 for PUMP Batch

Plant and Crusher, and ask him to share a little about himself:

1. How long have you been with

LAC and what did you do before?

LM - One year and 11 months with

LAC. I previously worked with

Foskor for nearly ten years and also

spent just one year and 4 months at

PMC.

2. Which three words best describe

you? LM - Love, Respect, Honesty.

3. What is the best piece of advice

you were ever given, and did you

follow it? LM - Don’t complain

about a job and don’t be the first one to complain about hunger. I am still

following this.

4. What do you think you will be doing ten years from now?

LM - I will have completed my Masters in Business Studies and will be

heading up a company.

5. Tell us something we don’t know about you? LM - I am a born leader

and I am holding Executive positions outside work.

6. Who do you most admire, and why? LM - All business owners, because

they create jobs for others.

7. What do you like to do in your spare time?

LM - Read the newspaper and watch the news on TV, especially parliamen-

tary life (Scopa). Do gardening.

8. Three ambitions/things that you still have left to do in life?

LM - Own a business, build a dream house and pray more.

11. If you could invite any four people to your braai, living or dead, who

would they be? LM - My grandfather, my father, my mother and my wife.

12. Do you have a braai tip for us? LM - Here is the sequence for a braai:

Select the music, braai, eat, drink and dance.

13. Who is going to win the

World Cup? I would wish

Bafana Bafana to win, as a South

African, but I know for sure that

Brazil is going to win as my

favourite international team.

CONGRATULATIONS! To Thabo Mako-

fane on the birth

of his son in May.

CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENT

LAC was pleased to donate two loads of

13mm stone to the Apostolic Faith Mission

CDC in Mashishimale to assist with their

project to build a new church.

“Some people think foot-

ball (soccer) is a matter

of life and death. I

assure you, it's much

more serious than that.”

Bill Shankly

THE SOCCER GAME Hours after the end of the world, a border

dispute arose between heaven and hell. God

invited the devil for negotiations in order to

resolve this dispute quickly. The devil pro-

posed a soccer game between heaven and

hell. God, always fair, said to the devil, "The

heat must be affecting your brain! The game

would be so one sided. Don't

you know all the 'good' play-

ers go to heaven?" The devil,

smiling, responded "Yeah,

but we've got all the Refs!"

WORLD CUP TRIVIA

♦ A single soccer player will run over 11 kms during a game;

♦ The first World Cup was won by hosts Uruguay in 1930 - in front of only 300 spectators;

♦ 80% of the world’s footballs are made in Pakistan;

♦ India withdrew from the 1950 World Cup when they were told the players had to wear shoes;

♦ The fastest send-off was Jose Ba-tista of Uruguay who was back on the bench just 56 seconds after the start of the Uruguay / Scot-land World Cup game in 1986.

♦ Footballs used to be hexagonal - until too many people lost their sight or got brain damage from heading them. The balls became round, but the stitching remains hexagonal as a memory of the game’s dangerous past!