ANA reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday that it would be embarking on a protected strike at Msobo Coal’s operations in Mpumalanga.  

This came after the company withdrew from the the Chamber of Mines’ centralised bargaining forum.  NUM chief negotiator in the coal sector, Peter Bailey, said the strike was expected to begin on Tuesday next week.  He indicated that the purpose of the strike was to compel Msobo Coal and its management to comply with the recommendations of an advisory award regarding the matter and to align itself with the process of wage negotiations that was currently ongoing at the Chamber.  In 2016, coal mining members of the Chamber, including Msobo Coal, indicated that they intended to negotiate wages on a decentralised basis with effect from 2017.  Bailey said that when that decision was subsequently reversed, “Msobo Coal chose to resign with immediate effect from the Chamber without consulting the NUM.”

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