Reuters reports that members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will decide whether or not to return to work at Northam Platinum’s Zondereinde mine on Tuesday, which is when the police and the company are due to report back to the union.
Both the NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) have demanded safety assurances and arrests following violence at the Limpopo mine which was seen two violent deaths in recent days. Northam CEO Paul Dunne, speaking to Reuters near the mine after a meeting with mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane, said that union conflict is a “deep-rooted” issue at Zondereinde. “It’s not conducive to production. There is a deep-rooted issue and it won’t be solved in a week, but we are making steps towards it,” Dunne said. In a statement, he said that the stoppage could jeopardise the future of the company’s biggest revenue earner.
Confusingly, both Amcu and the NUM claim that the miner stabbed to death on Monday was an Amcu member, while the company says he was affiliated with the NUM.
- Read this report Zandi Shabalala in full at Moneyweb
- See too, Work stoppage continues at Northam mine on Friday, at BDLive
- And also, Amcu blames NUM for deadly violence at Northam Platinum, at EWN
- As well as, Slain Northam employees were NUM members, at Business Report
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page