More than 100 workers at Xstrata Alloy’s smelter in Rustenburg in the North West have been fired, the SABC reported on Wednesday.
According to the mining company’s workers they refused to take part in a wellness campaign during which they were allegedly told they would be forced to take an HIV test.
The employees boycotted the campaign. Workers said they were served with dismissal letters on Friday last week.
One worker told the broadcaster: ”They simply come to us and tell us ‘you go to the wellness or either I dismiss you’. Our aim is to wait for a manager to come and address us and tell us why they are saying this test is compulsory.”
Xstrata SA has dismissed the allegations. A company spokesperson said they were dismissed for protesting during working hours.
”They chose to picket about issues not related to the wellness campaign during work time. In our understanding, from what they have said to us, their protest was actually not about the wellness campaign at all, their protest was about 50% subsidy on annual leave that they had to take last year.
”The other issue pertained to leave not being reflected on their forms as well as shift allowances.” — Sapa