Lonmin will dismiss 1 139 employees by December, claims Solidarity
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.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
The SAIMM started as a learned society in 1894 after the invention of the cyanide process that saved the South African gold mining industry of the...
VISIT SHOWROOM
ROSOND provides fast, efficient, safe, and cost-effective drilling and grouting services to mining and exploration industries throughout Africa.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
