Mine rejects racism claims 'with contempt'
DRDGold has denied claims made by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) that intolerant racist behaviour was being practised at the company’s Blyvooruitzicht mine.
In a statement released by Cosatu on Tuesday, the union federation alleged that Blyvooruitzicht mine management practised racism towards employees.
“The NUM [National Union of Mineworkers] is at loggerheads with management, trying to rescue members from this unbecoming behaviour that is practised daily,” said NUM Carletonville regional chairperson Deon Boqwana.
He alleged that senior and middle management positions were reserved for whites, and accused the mine’s management of refusing to implement the Employment Equity Act.
He also claimed that white bosses physically assaulted black mineworkers but no disciplinary action was taken against them.
“We are sick and tired of this kind of behaviour that is displayed by these racist elements within this company. All these incidents are reported to the human resource manager who is also white and seen to be very much instrumental in these incidents.
“This kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated any more. We are therefore going to mobilise our members to fight against this monster,” said Boqwana.
Management at the mine refuted the claims.
A spokesperson for DRDGold South Africa, James Duncan, said: “DRDGold SA rejects with contempt the sweeping claims contained in the NUM statement. Allegations of racism giving rise to formal complaint are investigated thoroughly and, where proven, disciplinary action is taken against those responsible.
“Illustrative of this, the isolated incident at Blyvoor referred to in the NUM statement is under investigation currently.”
Duncan said that allegations of job reservation and the refusal to implement employment equity “fly in the face of statistics”.
“Between 2006 and the present, the percentage of blacks in senior management positions increased from 0% to 29%; in middle management, from 18% to 33%; and in junior management, from 12% to 19%,” he said.
Duncan said that DRDGold CEO Niel Pretorius will be writing a letter of protest regarding the statement to the national executive of the NUM.—Sapa
