Personnel of the Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine stand at infrastructure of the mine.
Platinum group metals major Impala Platinum (Implats) has agreed to withdraw the suspension notices that were issued to the 38 employees who “were seen to have been the face of workers” who staged a sit-in underground at the Bafokeng North and South shafts in December.
The company revisited its stance, following representations made by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) regional structure.
Management has offered everyone the opportunity to make specific representations to defend and or mitigate their actions, an Implats spokesperson tells Mining Weekly.
The NUM said in a statement that Implats has agreed to revisit and re-engage the union on all issues that were covered in the demands raised by the workers once the situation has stabilised.
In the meantime, the NUM has called on all its members to resume work.
“We remain open to constructive engagement but hold firm that this can only be successfully conducted in an environment where statutory safety and labour requirements are upheld,” Implats emphasises.
All other issues will be further communicated once the employer has put them in writing on January 9, NUM avers.
On December 18, Implats reported an illegal sit-it at Bafokeng Rasimone, which stemmed from “misunderstandings brought to the fore by the change in ownership at Impala Bafokeng”. This included concerns over the historical employee profit share arrangement being converted, at the election of the employees, into an employee share ownership trust; as well as misunderstandings about the ability to pay out accumulated pension fund balances.