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Sunday Times reports that mining unions and experts are warning of possible job cuts as Transnet's failing rail infrastructure chokes the movement of commodities to the ports.
Thapelo Malekutu of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said they had already received warnings from three coal mining companies of retrenchments if the situation did not improve. “Any time from now, we are waiting for formal processes where they want to consult about Section 189 [retrenchments]. Mining companies are complaining that they cannot move coal to the ports and that the coal price has dropped. In the past, even if they were transporting less, the price of coal was good but now it has dropped and they cannot transport enough,” Malekutu stated. Meantime, trucks cannot move coal to the Richards Bay port quickly enough as they faced problems such as road accidents, strikes and breakdowns. Solidarity’s Gideon du Plessis said the problems with Transnet's rail network came up during their wage negotiations with Kumba Iron Ore: “We were supposed to sign a five-year wage agreement just as Anglo Platinum signed a five-year deal. But they said no, they cannot enter into such a deal. They said they have done some forecasting and found that there is too much uncertainty.” The Minerals Council SA (MCSA) has said coal, iron ore and chrome miners were facing enormous difficulties transporting their commodities to the port by rail. MCSA spokesperson Allan Seccombe said the industry had not yet shed jobs but the situation in coal was bad: “The industry is going to battle and ultimately there will be consequences for jobs if coal mines cannot export.” Bonginkosi Mabaso of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) said the country's rail capacity has been constrained by underinvestment, rising incidents of theft, and vandalism, but TFR had “implemented a transformation strategy to stabilise rail operations and grow the volumes across all corridors including that of the export coal, manganese and ore lines”.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Penwell Dlamini at Sunday Times (subscriber access only)
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