The mine is located on the road between Barberton and Low’s Creek, near the Barberton Bible School in the Sheba Siding area.

The workers were protesting the company’s proposal to implement a lay-off system until its financial situation changed for the better, as declared in a memorandum issued by Frans Viljoen on behalf of Chamotte Holdings, dated July 4.

Read: Plans in place to reopen Barbrook 

According to the mine management, during a meeting held between the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the labour union representing the majority of the workers, and the management of Scotia Talc Mine on July 4, they made several proposals to their employees.

These included cancellations of extra shifts on Saturdays until further notice, cancellation of double shifts on the plant, and the revision that some employees work on a two-week cycle with the application of no pay for the two weeks off.

To minimise the effect of the lay-off of the workers, management proposed that employees who still had 14 days’ annual leave available, were permitted to use it in their first two-week lay-off period.
These proposals were to take effect from July 17 until the end of October, unless the financial situation of the company improved.

The employees did not agree with the proposals.

As a result, they decided on Thursday to stage a sit-in underground.

According to France Vikizitha Mkhabela, regional organiser of Amcu in the Lowveld, this started at 06:00 last Thursday.

He said the mine was exploiting the workers and if they allowed it to introduce its new proposals, the workers’ living conditions would go from bad to worse.

“Currently, the basic salaries for most of the workers is R3 050, excluding benefits such as overtime and including the meagre living out and transport allowances. If we allow the employer to introduce this two weeks’ working days, the workers will end up taking home R1 500 a month, which is far below a living wage that Amcu is pushing for,” he said.