Fin24 reports that Sibanye-Stillwater has issued retrenchment notices at its Kloof 4 shaft, which could potentially affect as many as 3,000 workers at the gold mining operation near Carletonville.
This was due to ongoing losses over an extended period and operational constraints at the Kloof 4 shaft. The possible restructuring of the Kloof 4 shaft could potentially affect 2,389 employees and 581 contractor employees, Sibanye indicated. "We will engage with all relevant stakeholders in an effort to avoid job losses while attempting to limit the impact on the remainder of the operations and employees at the SA gold operations", said Richard Cox, head of the Sibanye's SA gold operations. Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of Solidarity, said the union would fight tooth and nail to preserve as many jobs as possible. He stated: "It is very bad timing, because it means that it's again a bleak Christmas for those who face retrenchment. We will now go through the process, and we just hope for a very similar outcome as at Beatrix [and Kloof 1], where we managed to find many transfer opportunities, and we just hope that the same thing will happen. Nevertheless, we have never been through a process where so many people are affected that you can save every job, so it's still a very dire situation."
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at News24
- Read too, Sibanye retrenchment sword hangs over 2,400 workers, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page