JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) plans to march from the Kopanong hostel to gold mining company Sibanye Gold’s Kloof office on Wednesday afternoon to protest a number of grievances raised by workers at the mine.
The union said in a statement that it was objecting to the “pressure and oppression” placed on black miners and production supervisors, accusing Sibanye’s management of “applying a strategy” of making promoted black workers appear “incompetent and unqualified by setting unachievable goals for them to fail”.
The union also called for a ban on discriminatory and racist practices, a disciplinary code that it said was meant to “victimise and harass workers”, and long working hours without overtime in exchange for bonuses.
“Management intends to increase the hours of work and scope of maximising the profit … without considering the health of these workers,” it added.
Another complaint that had emerged was that Sibanye management reduced the number of yearly leave days from 56 to 45 allegedly without explanation and without informing the workers.
The shaft committees were also being “victimised”, according to the union.
Further, the NUM was opposing what it claimed was poor service received at medical stations and the closure of medical stations in some hostels, as well as the service of the buses, which transported workers “right at the beginning of shifts but not picking them up after work”.
Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted said the company had not yet been presented with any grievances by the union. "It is unfortunate that the union seems to be attempting to negotiate through the press. We will respond accordingly once we have been presented with the list of issues," he added.