The National Union of mineworkers (NUM) on Friday decried a plan by Lonmin to cut 6 000 jobs as it readies to close or mothball several mine shafts in a bid to survive plunging prices.
"This is a bloodbath of job losses in the mining industry. It is a tragedy for the mineworkers in South Africa," the union said in a statement.
NUM vowed to fight against any job losses, saying it is "very painful to see that these mining companies take the decisions of cutting jobs easy".
It said NUM is not surprised that mining companies always blame the depleted metal prices in the market as their reason for retrenching. NUM also expressed shock at the decision by Lonmin close down Hossy shaft and place West 1, E1 and K4 shafts on care and maintenance.
The union said "this drastic action by Lonmin" will leave thousands of mineworkers in a dire situation, while the high number of retrenchments will contribute to high unemployment rate in South Africa.
"NUM has been informed by Lonmin of its intention to retrench 6 000 workers. We wish that these job losses can be avoided and as NUM we will do our best to engage the company to save jobs," said said Erick Gcilitshana, NUM chief negotiator at Lonmin.
Meanwhile, trade union Solidarity on Friday partly blamed militant unions for lay-offs.
Militant trade unions and their violent protests were the reason Lonmin was planning to cut a further 4 500 jobs, the union said in a statement.
This is in addition to the 1 355 planned job cuts that Lonmin has implemented.
“We urge trade unions, who loudly boast their militant and revolutionary ideologies, to learn from this disastrous situation,” said Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis.
“This planned retrenchment process once again proves that strikes can rob innocent employees of their jobs,” he said.
Reuters reported that the platinum sector has been under huge stress, with the spot price at six-and-a-half-year lows below $1 000 an ounce, while power and labour costs in South Africa have risen sharply.
According to the report Lonmin has taken a worse beating than its peers amid concerns about its viability, after an independent probe slammed its handling of a violent strike at its Marikana mine three years ago in which 44 people were killed, 34 by police.
As of Thursday, Lonmin's market value according to Thomson Reuters data was R8.6-billion, less than half of rival Northam Platinum, which produces roughly half of Lonmin's output.
Lonmin's share price in London fell more than 7% on Friday to an all-time low. In Johannesburg they were down more than 8%, bringing their losses on the year to 57%.