Trade union the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is calling on precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater’s shareholders to remove Neal Froneman as the company’s CEO with immediate effect.

The organisation says Froneman consistently refuses to meet with trade union leaders in South Africa.

“If Sibanye shareholders want their mining operations to prosper in South Africa, they should remove him as CEO,” indicates NUM president Joseph Montisetse.

He says Froneman is the “major destroyer of jobs in the mining industry in the country”.

Montisetse says Froneman bought the Cook operations in South Africa, and immediately put these on care and maintenance, which resulted in considerable job losses or retrenchments.

Moreover, he notes that Froneman bought Lonmin and Anglo American Platinum operations in the platinum belt, and also put some of the operations on care and maintenance.

“He then retrenched a lot of workers,” adds Montisetse, and called for him to apologise to mineworkers.

“Mineworkers are deeply trapped in poverty because of people of Froneman’s calibre. Why can't he take full responsibility as one of the people who are contributing to that?” Montisetse questions.

He notes that, currently, thousands of mineworkers across Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African gold operations are on indefinite strike action, in a dispute over wage increases.

He says Froneman should have considered calling a meeting with trade union leaders, to talk and address the plight of employees.

"Instead, together with his crew, they are continuing to award themselves huge bonuses at the sweat and blood of those poor workers.

“The NUM is calling on the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to withdraw the mining licences on all mines or operations that have been put on care and maintenance by Sibanye,” Montisetse says.

The NUM says it is determined to pursue its demands for a wage increase of R1 000 for surface and underground miners and a 6% increase for artisans, miners and officials working at Sibanye’s gold mines.

Sibanye declined to comment.