The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday said it was “deeply concerned” that its members and contractors at the Koornfontein mine, in Mpumalanga, have not received their salaries since November 2018.

According to NUM Highveld regional secretary Tshilidzi Mathavha, the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for the mine had paid Optimum employees after selling a dragline machine to Glencore for R80-million, following which the union had been informed that the Optimum and Koornfontein operations were detached from one another.

This is despite both Optimum and Koornfontein having been placed under business rescue as part of the Gupta-owned Tegeta mines.

The union further alleged that the BRPs then continued to pay one month’s salary to Optimum employees, despite an objection from the NUM that it would bring about division among employees, particularly those of Koornfontein and contractors who have not received salaries since November 2018. 

"The NUM’s position was clear that BRPs should mobilise enough resources to accommodate all employees before any payment could be made. The BRPs also went on to have separate offers to purchase of these two operations. To this end, Optimum has a potential buyer whereas the status of Koornfontein is not known to the union and, as such, there is no feedback to workers," Mathavha commented. 

Koornfontein employees are now calling for Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to intervene and resolve the challenges and problems that are facing workers at the mine.

The union also put State-owned Eskom at the centre of the delay, adding that, to date, there is no coal supply agreement between potential buyers and the power utility.

Initially, Eskom requested the postponement of a creditors meeting in December 2018 citing that it still wanted to check the credibility of the preferred bidder with the undertaking that this matter should be brought to finality by February.

“Failure to conclude this agreement by Eskom brings about unending [torture] to workers since workers cannot go back to work until this agreement is signed,” the union said.

The NUM has been in engagement with Eskom without results.

The NUM said the Public Enterprises Minister has also not “been available to deal with this delicate matter” even after the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ intervention, on behalf of the NUM, to try to reach out to his office.