On Monday, September 18, BPCM, led by the chairperson, Edwin Malatji, conducted a peaceful march from the Phalaborwa Bus Stop to Wildevy Park in town. According to Malatji, the march was directed at local stakeholders which included Palabora Mining Company (PMC), Foskor, the Leole Community Trust, and Zicornia among others. Malatji handed over memorandums to Foskor and the Leole Community Trust and gave them seven working days to respond.

He accused Foskor of not caring about the workers who are hired through contractors. “Workers hired by contractors at the mine don’t have any benefits such as medical aid and when the mine is asked about this, they say they don’t get involved in contractors’ matters. “Their hiring process is also not fair as maths and science are at times prerequisites even for jobs that don’t need mathematics,” he said.

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Foskor acknowledged that they received the memorandum from the concerned members but stated that the issues raised in the memorandum have been escalated to the Mopani District Municipality mayor’s office for intervention. “A commercial contract between Foskor and a contractor must be distinguished from a contract of employment between the contractor and its employees.

Accordingly, employees who are dissatisfied with the conduct of their employers are entitled to lodge internal grievances with their respective employers and refer these grievances to labour dispute resolution bodies such as the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA),” said Frans Mokhondo of Foskor. “Therefore, subject to a vendors’ warrantee clause, it is not legally competent for Foskor to interfere with contractual relationships between contractors and their employees,” he said.

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According to him, science subjects are required for technical jobs only. The concerned members say they want to know how much money the Leole Community Trust makes in a year and how it benefits local communities. The trust is a 10% shareholder of PMC and works with five communities in Phalaborwa: the Majeje, Maseke, Makhushane, Mashishimale, and Selwane communities. The trust is involved in development projects in these communities.

Laban Malatji, an administrator at Leole, said the trust is transparent and has been holding meetings where stakeholders and community members are informed on their finances and projects. PMC was not issued a memorandum from BPCM as the group was not happy with the person who was assigned to receive the memorandum on behalf of the mine. “We are giving PMC seven working days to arrange a meeting with the big boss, known as Wei,” he said. “We don’t want the other people, we believe they are corrupt,” he said. The Herald reached out to PMC for comment but did not receive a response.