JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has said an agreement has been reached with AngloGold Ashanti to not retrench some 849 workers, but AngloGold spokesperson Chris Nthite on Tuesday said engagement with the union was ongoing and that no concrete decisions had been made.
“Yesterday we met with the organised labour representatives of our employees as planned, to discuss the Section 189 notice which involves, besides other things, exploring steps to mitigate job losses. This engagement is ongoing and it remains too early to pre-empt an outcome,” he told Mining Weekly Online.
The NUM late on Monday said that instead of retrenching workers, the gold miner would transfer employees to other business units or reskill them for other jobs.
The proposed retrenchments come after Nthite last week told Mining Weekly Online that AngloGold’s South African business was marred by maturing operations, a declining production profile, cost escalations and frequent regulatory disruptions, which hampered its ability to build and sustain volumes.
He stated, however, that "job cuts will always be a last resort”.