JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South African trade union Solidarity has lodged an application with the Labour Court for an urgent interdict against JSE-listed gold producer DRDGold.

This came after the gold miner refused several applications by Solidarity to be involved in the Section 189 process at the group’s Blyvooruitzicht mine, near Carletonville.

In terms of the Section 189 notice, the company ultimately retrenched 330 of the mine’s employees through a combination of voluntary and forced retrenchments.

Solidarity said in a statement on Tuesday that although there has been no consultations with the union regarding the retrenchments, its members have already been notified of the retrenchment and have been retrenched.

Solidarity maintained that the company did not follow a fair process, as prescribed by the Labour Relations Act.

“The application for an interdict is an effort to have the Section 189 process declared null and void in order to ensure that the process has to start anew,” explained Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans. “The company has until this coming Friday to submit their opposing statement.”

Solidarity was hoping to get a ruling in this urgent matter by next week.

“Solidarity’s involvement in the process is essential and is prescribed by law. The process will simply have to restart in order to give Solidarity a say in the consultation process, thereby enabling the trade union to fight for its members,” Kleynhans said.

Solidarity currently represented about 115 members at Blyvooruitzicht.

However, DRDGold spokesperson James Duncan told Mining Weekly Online that Solidarity was not a recognised bargaining unit at Blyvooruitzicht, as it did not represent enough workers.

As such, they had no legitimate involvement in the Section 189 consultation.

However, Duncan added that the union had been invited to discussions between the gold producer and recognised bargaining units the National Union of Mineworkers and the United Association of South Africa, but had declined to participate in these meetings.