Num workers threaten to continue protesting unless they’re reinstated
The organisation's chairman, Mr Jacob Elofu said, "We have also been engaging with CDS for the past six months where we proposed as Num that the company must consider voluntary severance packages as an alternative to avoid retrenchments. These employees do not even have retirement and pension funds," he said.
BURGERSFORT – Members of the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) have vowed to continue with their demonstrations outside the Twickenham Platinum Mine. This comes after workers were sacked on June 30.
About 183 striking mine workers revealed that they would continue with the protest until they were reinstated.
Num secretary at the Twickenham branch, Mr Steve Pilusa confirmed that 183 workers had been fired by the Anglo American mine.
“The Capital Development Services (CDS) served the union with notice to terminate contracts of the workers. CDS is a subsidiary of the Anglo American Platinum (Amplats).”
Num demands that all affected employees be reinstated. It also wants Amplats to cancel its contract with SAN contracting services as a labour hire firm and to absorb all CDS employees.
“The reason of the employer to retrench these employees does not make sense. This is unfair labour practice and unfair dismissal. The majority of these employees are from the local communities,” said Pilusa.
The organisation’s chairman, Mr Jacob Elofu said, “We have also been engaging with CDS for the past six months where we proposed as Num that the company must consider voluntary severance packages as an alternative to avoid retrenchments. These employees do not even have retirement and pension funds,” he said.
Elofu said the miner’s medical cards were also recently terminated.
When the paper spoke to the miners, they revealed that they had been mistreated by the mine.
“We are unfairly treated, the management is not taking us seriously, we have been engaging in negotiations with them since last December. The case has been with the CCMA since March without resolution,” they said.
Num also revealed that it had lost confidence in the Limpopo Department of Mineral Resources as it ignored the union’s pleas.
“The department does not care about the miners’ needs, we had been engaging with them for the past weeks but they don’t respond to our queries.”
Anglo American spokesman, Ms Mpumi Sithole says there are talks between the workers and SAN company, a contractor of Anglo American which hired the workers.
Sithole says Anglo American is facilitating the talks. “We hope that SAN and its employees will reach a calm and peaceful resolution soon.”
