According to Goldfields’ spokesman Mr Sven Lunsche, violence broke out at South Deep on 2 November after Gold Fields declared, as part of a legal process followed as part of Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act (66 of 1995), that it would retrench 1 100 employees due to the mine suffering unsustainable losses. It also asked contractors to reduce their staff with another 420 people.
Members of the NUM, the majority union on the mine, started to violently block entrances to the mine as has, despite a court interdict obtained by Goldfields on 3 November, continued with this action ever since.
‘We have called in the help of the police but they, understandably, cannot be here 24 hours a day. The moment that they leave the trouble starts again,’ Lunsche told the Herald.
As a result, employees belonging to the other union at the mine, UASA, which has reached an agreement with Goldfields, also cannot get to work.
Some of the non-striking employees, many of whom are staying in the Merafong City Local Municipal area, have expressed concern that they might not get paid at the end of the month due to the fact that very few people, including employees dealing with wages, can get onto the mine’s premises.
On Wednesday, Lunsche however assured these people that they will get their wages at the end of the month. He noted though that the pay outs to the employees who are being retrenched are taking longer than planned due to SARS having to check the accompanying taxes.
