Photo by: Creamer Media
Labour union the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Highveld Region has noted “with regret” the decision taken by the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) board that seeks to indicate that Optimum Colliery, which remains under business rescue, will no longer be allowed to export coal using the allocated terminal.
The NUM says the decision will have a negative impact on the livelihoods of mine workers and the community who depend on them in the Steve Tshwete municipality, in Mpumalanga.
“What is disturbing more is the fact that the RBCT board did not even bother to engage with the NUM, the recognised labour union in Optimum Colliery. The board decided willy-nilly to take such a resolution that, in our view as the NUM, is detrimental and regressive,” the union said in a statement on January 13.
The NUM said it noted “with anger and sadness” the decision of the RBCT board, but that it was of the view that the assigned business rescue practitioners (BRPs) were not assisting the situation, claiming that the BRPs were no longer serving the interests of the workers by rescuing the business.
The union alleged that the BRPs were taking advantage of the coal price and were embarking on a self-interested profit-making endeavor instead of rescuing the business.
The NUM said it would be requesting a meeting with the BRPs, the RBCT board and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
The NUM said the first beneficiaries should be former employees of the Optimum coal mine, stating that the primary focus of the BRPs should be to ensure that these employees are employed so that they can continue to support their families.