Economic hardship and strike action force mine to consider retrenchments
"An estimated 2 000 employees, including contractors, will be affected by the downscaling of operations. It is envisaged that the consultation process under the auspices of the CCMA will commence shortly," Kasselman disclosed.
DRIEKOP – About 2 000 mineworkers at Dilokong ASA Metals could see themselves on the job hunting list this January. The company will be retrenching this year.
According to a press release by the mine, the retrenchments are due to the continuous drop in both the ore and the depleted chrome price, as well as the recent community unrest that occurred in the Driekop area.
“The mine is forced into a restructuring process which will cause a significant reduction in its operations, including the number of employees.
“This is the result of continued work stoppages because of community unrest, general militant union behaviour by
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which resulted in an unprotected strike
since October 29, 2015 to date, and numerous Section 54 instructions issued
by the Department of Mineral Resources
(DMR) which caused more than 15 per cent production losses for 2015,” the mine’s communication officer Ms Martie Kasselman said. According to Kasselman the above-mentioned events have severely impacted the production volumes and profitability
and are further aggravated by the continuous decline in worldwide market activity.
“The current situation requires the company to seriously examine the possibility of scaling down the business considerably. “As a result of the unprotected strike at the mine, as well as the significant drop in the selling price of ore, we find ourselves in a situation where the mine will have to be put on care and maintenance.” The mine said it had commenced consultations with organised labour (NUM) and affected employees as part of a restructuring process with the potential for retrenchments.
“An estimated 2 000 employees, including contractors, will be affected by the downscaling of operations. It is envisaged that the consultation process under the auspices of the CCMA will commence shortly,” Kasselman disclosed. With regard to the restructuring process, the company has introduced a number of initiatives to minimise the impact of the process, among others to allow all affected employees to apply for voluntary separation packages.
The mine revealed to the paper that it was still looking at other alternatives to reduce the impact of the restructuring. NUM’s regional secretary, Mr Phillip Mankge, told the Steelburger/Lydenburg News that they were waiting for the mine to sit with the union and reveal the reasons behind the retrenchments.
“They haven’t spoken to us, we heard they would be retrenching workers because of the price of chrome that had dropped.”We also heard they were running their business at a loss.We will look at the matters and do our investigations. If the retrenchment is unlawful, we will challenge it,” the union said. ASA Metals vowed to work closely with communities where they can.
“In terms of our involvement in the local community, we remain committed to make a contribution to the development of the community, subject to the necessary resources available.”
