ANA reports that the National Union of Mineworkers Youth Structure (NUM-YS) on Tuesday said it was concerned by Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s “continuous failure” to assist workers at Lily Mine.  

It claimed his promises were a “populist stunt”.  Three mineworkers were buried alive when the container in which they were working fell into a 60 metre sinkhole at the gold mine on 5 February last year.  Their bodies have not been recovered.  “He (Zwane) promised to compensate the families of the trapped workers with R200,000 and those who were rescued R50,000 each.  Since this populist stunt, he is nowhere to be found,” said NUM-YS Highveld Region in a statement.  The comments came after the NUM-YS Second Regional Youth Council meeting held at Eskom Park on 24 February 2017.  The meeting discussed challenges facing young workers, inter alia, retrenchments in mining.

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