The mining sector was no longer the main driver of the South African economy but it still contributed significantly towards the country’s gross domestic product, said Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi at the National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM’s) fifteenth national congress, in Johannesburg, on Thursday. 

As the industry survived and grew, it embraced the transformation of itself and the economy to reflect the meaningful participation of black people at all levels, he said.

The congress theme – “Back to basics, members first!” – was a bold statement of the imperative to return the NUM to its basic mandate, which was to fight for its members’ rights and enforce the efforts of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) as the main member of the tripartite alliance, stated Ramatlhodi.

“We need to take the interests of our members into account, fight for their rights and organise and mobilise to make the union attractive to nonmembers as well. This congress is taking place at a time when commodity prices have collapsed. The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is concerned by the downscaling of jobs and the retrenchments in the sector,” he said.

Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act allowed for the inclusive management of the downscaling and retrenchment of employees. The Minister urged employers to follow the rules and added that the department would support initiatives underlined by the Minerals Act.

He warned that noncompliant licence holders remained a challenge in terms of transformation. The DMR had issued more than 300 notices to noncompliant licence holders.

Meanwhile, he stated that government encouraged negotiations between workers and employers but urged management to be transparent in the negotiations process and added that, in the event of striking workers, strikes should be undertaken peacefully and lawfully.

ATTACKING NUM
South African Communist Party (SACP) deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin stated at the congress that, over the last three years, NUM had been a target of unprecedented attacks from “various angles”.

He accused the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa’s “leadership clique” of being in “cahoots” with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union to ensure the downfall of NUM.

NUM, he said, had become a target of fraternal industrial unions in a way that broke the founding principles of Cosatu.

He added that, after 1994, the South African government introduced “too much liberalisation” and failed to confront monopoly capital.

“The class interests of bosses and workers stand in contradiction. For bosses, the priorities are profits for themselves. The social conditions of workers are secondary considerations. The struggle is always there if there is capitalism. And we expect capitalist media to continuously attack the NUM,” he stated.

The SACP declared solidarity with NUM on “multi-organisational attacks”.

Cronin said, an attack against NUM was an attack on progressive unionism and was, in turn, an attack on the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.

“We don’t want unions that are enemies of the State,” he declared.

Meanwhile, he added that the SACP wanted 100% unionisation in the public and private sectors.

The mining sector continued to show significant union growth, increasing from 71% in 1997 to 80% in 2013.

“We have to reindustrialise and this means leveraging our competitive advantage which is minerals. Mining is not a sunset industry. It can be used to grow the country and the economy,” he stated.

APARTHEID MINING SECTOR
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa also addressed the congress and stated that, before 1994, the South African mining industry epitomised the harshness and cruelty of Apartheid and did little to develop the skills of workers or acknowledge the needs of communities.  

Some features of the Apartheid mining industry had survived today, he said, and it had become “the reservoir of the oppression of our people”.

He noted that NUM continued to play a critical role in the transformation of the industry and South Africa but acknowledged that there was still much to be done in the industry.

“The Mining Charter was developed as a tool for transformation in the mining sector and while improvements have been made in some areas, there is still a lot to be done. White men continue to dominate top management and technical positions. Although we proved black workers can live up to those positions, transformation at those levels has not improved,” he stated.

The fifteenth NUM congress took place during the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter, which Ramaphosa said provided the union with a clear political vision towards liberation.

The congress was a great opportunity for delegates, members and leaders to converse, exchange ideas and come up with innovative ideas to build the union and improve the lives of mineworkers, added the Deputy President.

“As leaders of NUM, we must take responsibility to serve our members. Leaders must serve with humility and not arrogance. The buying of votes has crept into NUM and the ANC. We must root it out by talking about it. We cannot be a weakened union; we must go back to basics and improve the quality of leadership through the training of members, shop stewards and leaders,” he said.