Mail & Guardian reports that Impala Platinum (Implats) recently announced its intention to cut 13,000 jobs over the next two years, reducing full-time and contracted employees from 40,000 to 27,000 by 2021.
This led to government accusing the platinum producer of being reckless. The resultant tensions have led one observer to note that conditions were similar to those leading up to the 2012 Marikana tragedy, in which 44 people were killed. David van Wyk of the Bench Marks Foundation, which monitors corporate social responsibility, warned that another Marikana may be on the cards, should the retrenchments go ahead. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) last week threatened to strike if jobs were cut. “We will make sure that there is not an ounce of platinum that will come out of the ground,” Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said on Tuesday. Although the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) agreed with Amcu’s position, spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said the union had not yet discussed its stance on the proposed job cuts. He said: “As NUM we can even work with Amcu and we do not have a problem at all, if they want us to take the fight to Impala Platinum ... Let’s do it together. As workers we must fight together for common challenges we are facing.”
- Read this report by Thulebona Mhlanga in full and view a related graph at Mail & Guardian
- Read too, Amcu warns of mass action over Implats job cuts, at The Citizen
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page