‘Time for sober minds’ – Impala Mine urged not to dismiss workers after three-day underground strike

Impala Platinum has been urged to find a solution that doesn’t involve terminating the employment of the workers who took part in a protest at the Bafokeng Rasimone Mine in Rustenburg, North West.

More than 2,000 miners staged a three-day underground protest over working conditions and bonuses this week.

All 2 205 workers, who started the protest in two shafts about 500 metres below ground, returned to the surface on Wednesday, effectively ending the strike.

According to Impala, also known as Implats, more than 160 miners had returned to the surface during the protest because of the difficult conditions.

All operations at the Bafokeng mine had been halted in a fourth major underground protest in two months.

‘Grievances must be resolved’

On Saturday, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) expressed its concern over “the level of tensions and reports of violence and hostage taking emanating from the mine” since the workers protested without the approval of National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) .

Cosatu said it was important that no further action be taken by the mine’s management or the workers as the situation was still “very sensitive”.

“The leadership of NUM and Cosatu [will] continue to engage with management to resolve the matters at hand.

“This needs to include an assurance that the jobs of more than 2 205 workers are protected, that no worker needs to fear for their safety at the mine and in particular when underground, and that workers’ concerns are addressed,” the trade union federation said in a statement.

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The federation said both itself and NUM were against the dismissals of workers who engaged in the protests.

“Nor will we condone any individuals or organisations who interfere with the constitutional and labour rights of any worker. Individuals and organisations who commit violence must be dealt with by the South African Police Service [Saps] according to the law without fear or favour.”

Cosatu called for a peaceful resolution instead.

“We are confident workers’ grievances can and must be resolved and that peace be allowed to prevail at Bafokeng Rasimone Mine. Now is the time for sober minds and for negotiations to be allowed to take place and expedited.”

Disciplinary action is reportedly on the cards for resurfaced Impala mineworkers.

Mine accident

Last month, 13 miners died at the mine when a cage carrying 86 workers suffered a mechanical fault in its conveyance system, resulting in it plunging to the bottom of the shaft.

11 workers were confirmed dead on the accident scene on 27 November.

An investigation into the incident has since been launched, with government setting a three-month deadline to conclude the probe.

READ MORE: Death of miners ‘darkest day in history of Implats’ − CEO

NUM claimed the accident could have been avoided, adding that it was due to “pure negligence”.

“There is no human error, it is pure negligence. This thing is expected to carry workers on a daily basis to and from underground.

“If these things are not properly serviced, people are obsessed with production they are not going to address the issues of safety in mines,” Geoffrey Moatshe, NUM Rustenburg’s regional secretary, said.

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel