TimesLIVE reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has condemned SA Steel Mills for failing to keep the workplace safe after several workers were injured in a workplace accident last week.

Numsa said on Monday it had been alerted by its Sedibeng secretary that four employees were burnt by molten steel on Thursday. Management said the accident was as a result of a cooling water pump which tripped, causing molten steel not to run through the mould, and it splashed out on to the operators. This was not the first time SA Steel Mills has had accidents, Numsa noted. The union said it was clear that worker safety was not prioritised at SA Steel Mills and this put the lives of workers at risk. It called on the labour department “to take the issues of SA Steel Mills seriously and intervene decisively, otherwise there will be more deaths.” SA Steel Mills said it was saddened by the injuries to its employees and added: “The company has consistently allocated extensive resources to occupational health safety in the work environment. Having said that, our operations are, by its nature, hazardous and any incident can easily cause injury and harm to the workforce.” CFO Kenny Mokoka went on to say: “Management have taken all the necessary steps to prevent a repeat of this type of accident and will consistently monitor the division under review,”

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE

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