JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Trade union Solidarity says it has been informed by platinum miner Lonmin that it is planning to reduce its workforce by 1 139 workers before Christmas, Solidarity said in a statement on Monday.
According to Solidarity, Lonmin says the platinum sector is under pressure owing to low platinum prices and rising costs that necessitate retrenchments.
“Solidarity will do everything in its power to prevent the retrenchments. In 2012, the Marikana incident brought fear and instability, and [the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union’s] five-month strike in 2014, as well as the subsequent retrenchment of nearly 7 000 workers, had a devastating effect on the employees and community,” said Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis.
He added that, with the announcement of the current retrenchment processes and an indication that a next phase of retrenchments will follow, Lonmin must reflect on its tactics to constantly create job insecurity and uncertainty regarding trade union representation among its workers.
“Given that a retrenchment process is regulated by Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, which stipulates that a trade union may represent its members regardless of the number of members it represents, Solidarity will take its place at the negotiating table on Wednesday, notwithstanding Lonmin’s ill-considered recognition decision,” said Du Plessis.
To lower current stress levels, Solidarity noted that it was calling on Lonmin to see to it that trade unions are not divided and, secondly, to fully restore Solidarity’s organisational rights, so that all attention and time could be focused solely on job protection.