Mail & Guardian reports that with the court process between the Chamber of Mines of SA (COM) and Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, set to be heard next week, Solidarity on Wednesday disclosed the court papers it has filed to have the latest iteration of the Charter set aside and abolished.  

The trade union will act as friend of the court in support of the COM in the court action the latter is taking against the Charter.   Explaining the union’s support for the COM’s action, Anton Van der Bijl, Head of Solidarity’s Centre for Fair Labour Practices, said their role was “to provide information to the court and to support the Chamber of Mines by way of its expertise.”  He went on to state that the latest Charter was “discriminatory, unlawful and unconstitutional and for those reasons, it needs to be revised and set aside”.  He added that the consequences and impact the Charter would have on the South African economy as a whole and the mining industry in particular were counterproductive given the Charter’s declared objectives.  As a result, the Charter would see more people lose their jobs, Van der Bijl told the Mail & Guardian.

• Read this report by Thulebona Mhlanga in full at Mail & Guardian
• Read Solidarity’s press statement at Solidarity online

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