The empowerment of women in the mining sector remains an essential aspect of the National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM’s) agenda, as 100 shop stewards, the majority of whom are women, will be enrolled at higher education institutions this month.

Through its Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre (EBMTC), the NUM is partnering with higher education institutions to ensure that its members have the privilege to attend university courses.

“This year, we have a partnership with the North-West University (NWU) Potchefstroom Business School and 100 shop stewards will be enrolled in fundamental courses where they will be taught various business skills. The expectation is, should they perform very well and acquire the necessary skills, as an ongoing programme, we will enrol them for the master’s degree in business administration at the NWU,” said EBMTC executive director Mercy Sekano at the official launch of the EBMTC last week in Midrand.

He added that the NUM aimed to train about 2 500 shop stewards a year across all its regions through its educational programmes and the EBMTC.

Last year, through the NUM’s Mineworkers Investment Trust, R3-million was allocated for bursaries, which enabled the enrolment of 50 female NUM members at the NWU’s Potchefstroom campus, for the economic development certificate course. A total of 38 passed the course, with 15 having passed with distinction. Those who did not complete their studies will be re-registered this year.

“Our regions reported that some of these women, after they had completed the course, have been appointed to managerial positions. Some of them have also applied for positions in their respective workplaces. This means that the course changed these women’s lives, as it has elevated them in the workplace,” noted NUM secretary-general Frans Baleni at the EBMTC launch.

He pointed out that, in several instances, women had performed much better than their male counterparts in various programmes presented by the EBMTC. Also, he noted that “women are better mineworkers, in some instances, especially in terms of operating machinery underground at the mines”.

However, Baleni mentioned that a lot more needed to be done to ensure that the harsh underground environment at mines did not affect women negatively. “As a result, we are taking into consideration the work apparel that women need for underground operations. We are considering the overalls and underwear that will be appropriate for women so that they will not be harmed as a result of being exposed to the conditions underground, especially with the extensive radiation that is mostly notable in the gold mines,” he noted.

“It is through these types of pro- grammes that we push the notion of empowering women in mining. Currently, the NUM has 12% of its female members enrolled in the learning programmes of the EBMTC. Also, there is a compliance requirement by the mining industry to have women represent at least 10% of the workforce in the mining sector by 2015, so we believe that we are well ahead in contributing towards meeting this target,” Sekano concluded.