JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Following the court interdict served on Northam Platinum’s striking Zondereinde employees on Wednesday, the company said that, by Thursday morning, over 40% of the shift complement of some 4 600 people had returned to work.

“Management has provided those remaining striking employees with a final opportunity to return to work by Friday, failing which, disciplinary measures will be instituted as provided for in the Labour Court’s interdict declaring the strike to be unprotected. This disciplinary process may include dismissal,” the miner said in a statement.

The Labour Court on Wednesday granted Northam an urgent interdict in respect of unprotected industrial action by National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) members at its Limpopo-based Zondereinde mine, which started on Tuesday.

NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu confirmed to Mining Weekly Online on Thursday morning that the union had received the interdict on Wednesday afternoon but had not yet had the opportunity to communicate with its members.

“We have called a mass meeting this morning to brief our members and plot the way forward,” he said.

The union on Wednesday called for the removal of “divisive” Northam CEO Paul Dunne with immediate effect, alleging that he had attempted to weaken and reverse progressive policies regulating the company’s employee relations.

It said in a statement that workers had been subjected to unfair dismissals despite being on valid sick leave and that management had refused to meet with the NUM’s branch leadership at the Zondereinde mine, in Limpopo, to discuss their concerns.

The NUM further called for the removal of human resources (HR) head Collin Smith, HR manager Ncedisa Maqoma, HR operations manager Marco van der Linde and GM Danny Gonsalves.

“The workers hereby stand with one voice that [these] employees of Northam Platinum must also be removed, as there are clear indications [that they wish] to divide [the workforce].

“Despite numerous attempts by the branch leadership to resolve issues with management…[they] responded by threatening disciplinary action without dealing with the actual issues,” Mammburu asserted at the time.