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

As the industry grew, it embraced its transformation and, the Minister said, that of the economy to reflect the meaningful participation of black people at all levels.

The congress, the theme of which was ‘Back to basics, mem-bers first!’, was held amid fresh threats of job cuts in light of a fall in commodity prices. The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) was, Ramatlhodi said, concerned about the downscaling of jobs in the sector and the department would support initiatives underlined in legisla-tion designed to minimise retrenchments.

Govern- ment would encourage negotia-tions between workers and employers, but the Minister urged management to be trans-parent and added that, in the event of strikes, these should be under-taken peacefully and lawfully.

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

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

The union, he said, had become a target of fraternal industrial unions in a way that broke the founding principles of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). The SACP declared solidarity with the NUM on “multiorganisational attacks”.

Cronin said, an attack against the 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.

“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.

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 the 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 for 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 Ramaphosa .

“As leaders of the 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.