Mine workers were being incentivised in the same way as taxi drivers – to take risks and to get killed in the process, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) president Senzeni Zokwana denounced at the Anglo tripartite safety summit in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.

"As long as you pay mine workers so little that they go back to dangerous areas because bonuses determine the money they take home, we will not win this battle," he said.

"We must make a difference today so that CEOs can declare results with a clear conscience. Let's not go to church on Sundays but treat mine workers as if they do not exist. Nobody joins the mines to die," Zokwana said.

He said that NUM could help the industry to perform safely and profitably, but there would have to be a rethink.

He said new legislation was in place, but little had changed.

Production driven process should be changed to safety-driven processes.

Leaders needed to count not only gold and platinum ounces, but also the number of miners that were able to return home to their families alive.

"We can change the situation, we can do better, we can mine proudly," Zokwana said.

There was expertise to mine deeply, but a lack of care was the problem.

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