JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – More than 524 members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have downed tools at Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) Twickenham mine, in Burgersfort, Limpopo, after Capital Development Services (CDS) served the union with a Section 189A notice as demanded by the Labour Relations Act.
In a statement on Friday, NUM explained that CDS, a subsidiary of Amplats, sought the retrenchment of 165 of the 524 employees, who were all NUM members.
The members resolved to strike on Tuesday after the employer served employees with individual notices to terminate their contracts of employment.
The workers were demanding that the employer reinstate all employees affected, Amplats do away with labour broker SAN Contracting Services, and that all CDS employees be absorbed by Amplats as they returned to work.
NUM representative Matlagolo Councellor Mmowa said the employer’s reason for retrenching these employees did not make sense.
“The majority of these employees likely to be retrenched are from the local communities in Burgersfort. We have also been engaging with CDS for the last six months where we proposed that the company consider [voluntary severance packages] as an alternative to avoid retrenchments. These employees do not even have retirement and pension funds," he added.
Amplats said a group of contractors employed by SAN had embarked on the strike owing to their contracts with SAN coming to an end. "Mine management has facilitated a meeting between SAN and its employees to try and end the impasse and is hopeful for a prompt and peaceful resolution," Amplats spokesperson Mpumi Sithole said.