BusinessLive reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday that President Cyril Ramaphosa and minerals & energy minister Gwede Mantashe should directly intervene and defuse ongoing tensions and violence at the beleaguered Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) mine.
RBM is owned by mining giant Rio Tinto, which has threatened to close the mine that employs about 5,000 workers. Rio Tinto has also threatened to hold back on a R6.5bn investment in RBM, which it had pledged during the Presidential Investment Summit late in 2019. The mine resumed operations two weeks ago after it was shut for more than a month after attacks on workers going to work. The violence emanated from a multifaceted dispute that included a local traditional leadership squabble and another in which locals were demanding to be employed at the mine. Just less than a week after resumption of work, two employees, including a security guard, were shot and wounded inside the RBM mine. Police have since made an arrest and two people have appeared in court. NUM regional secretary Mzi Zakwe said the situation could not be allowed to persist. “We understand that the KZN premier [Sihle Zikalala] has been trying his best to resolve this impasse… I think it is time that we escalate this matter further up and involve the president and the department of minerals & energy,” said Zakwe. Zikalala’s spokesperson indicated on Monday that the premier would be issuing a statement on “a ground-breaking agreement reached between all parties to resolve the outstanding disputes”.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chris Makhaye and Nce Mkhize at BusinessLive
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