As the festive season draws to a close and the hustle and bustle of going back to work and school begins, 401 workers at Gold One Mine in Springs, Ekurhuleni, have lost their jobs.

The workers were involved in strike action and an alleged battle between the mine’s representing union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and its competitor, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).

Mine workers, many of whom are breadwinners, received the news of their dismissal via an SMS.

The SMS received by the workers reads: “Gold One individual SMS: Kindly note that your medical exit is scheduled for January 9 at Boksburg. Transport is available in the morning at 06:30 at Gold One security. Bring your one-month bank statement for the provident fund claim.”

Yesterday morning, the mineworkers approached Gold One’s management, demanding dismissal letters.

The dismissals follow two ‘sit-ins’ at the Modder East Shaft to challenge union representation at the mine late last year.

In its demands, Amcu reported having a majority of members compared to NUM, which was the union representing the miners’ rights.

Amcu demanded an opportunity to represent the miners, as it had the majority of memberships as of March 2023, it claimed.

The union then demanded a ballot count to further prove its claim to represent the miners.

Following the first ‘sit-in’, the mine suspended 15 accused workers in November.

NUM and the mine said both ‘sit-ins’ were hostage situations, while Amcu said they were voluntary sit-ins.

In November, NUM decided to terminate the closed shop agreement it had at the Springs mine. It stated at the time that it had ‘taken a responsible decision or position to safeguard the jobs and save the lives of innocent workers. There is a legitimate concern that if the violent acts continue, some of our members or innocent workers are going to get killed’.

Talks between the mine and union representatives to avoid the dismissals have been unsuccessful.

The head of legal for Gold One Mine, Ziyaad Hassaam, could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.

This is a developing story.