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Fin24 reports that Wescoal indicated on Tuesday that production at the Vanggatfontein Mine in Mpumalanga would be suspended for a period of between six to eight weeks.
The mine is run by Keaton Mining, a subsidiary of Wescoal, while the operations are outsourced to a mining contractor. Wescoal advised that 274 of the contract employees had been served with notices of dismissal following what it described as "work stoppages, strike actions and riots". Wescoal said employees "turned violent" on 16 April, resulting in the destruction of equipment and the blockage of the mine's entrance gate. The contractor was then granted a court interdict against the employees on 17 April in the Labour Court. A disciplinary hearing found that the "only recommendation which would be appropriate in the circumstances would be that of dismissal". As a result of the production downtime, Wescoal has provided a notice of force majeure to power utility Eskom of its inability to continue supplying coal in terms of their supply agreement. The mining contractor and Wescoal have embarked on a recruitment drive to hire new employees.
- Read the original report on the above at Fin24
- Read too, Vanggatfontein coal deliveries to Eskom interrupted as striking miners dismissed, at Mining Weekly
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page