The Sunday Independent reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) is expected to meet the Registrar of Labour Relations, Lehlohonolo Molefe, this week over the government’s decision to deregister the union.  

The meeting on Tuesday will come after Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa fired a broadside at the government over the decision, saying it was political.  Mathunjwa also said the decision was suspicious as the union was preparing for a round of wage negotiations in the platinum belt in the coming weeks.  Other than meeting with Molefe, Amcu could lodge a court application to force the government to back down on its decision.  The department last week issued a government gazette notice that Amcu was going to be deregistered because it had ceased to be a union.  It said the union’s constitution required a conference to be held every five years, but a conference had not been held since 2013.  Mathunjwa reacted that they had been taken aback by the decision despite the labour department having been assured that they were going to meet the requirements of holding their conference in time.  Other political parties have also said the decision by the government to deregister Amcu was to ensure that it was removed from the sector.

• Read the full original of Siyabonga Mkhwanazi’s report on the above at The Sunday Independent

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