Mining Weekly reports that Solidarity advised on Tuesday that it had received a retrenchment notice from South32’s Hillside aluminium smelter located in Richards Bay.  

The trade union stated that the retrenchment process could impact the lives of up to 30,000 people and, consequently, the entire Richards Bay area.  Solidarity deputy general secretary Marius Croucamp commented that the notice fed growing concern about the SA steel sector, which shed around 8,000 jobs in 2018.  A South32 spokesperson confirmed that it had informed employees at the smelter that it intended to commence consultation with them “related to a proposed restructure of the business, which is aimed at reducing Hillside’s costs and improving resilience to volatility in commodities markets.”  Croucamp noted that South32’s intended restructuring process was “highly complex,” as it would involve simultaneous retrenchments, reorganisation and salary adjustments.  The South32 spokesperson could not corroborate Solidarity’s intimation that 500 jobs would be affected, as the consultation process had not yet started.  Croucamp explained that more information would become available once the CCMA had appointed a facilitator and the consultation process was initiated.

• Read the original of this report in full at Mining Weekly
• Read Solidarity’s press statement in this regard at Solidarity News

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