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/ 25 April 2008

Manganese smelter did not insist on masks

A ferromanganese smelter near Durban did not insist its workers wear protective dust masks, even though dust levels were sometimes three times more than national legislative limits, a Labour Department inquiry heard on Thursday. The inquiry is investigating 40 alleged cases of manganism that have resulted from workers breathing in fumes.

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/ 26 February 2008

Assmang accused of delaying inquiry

An application to have a Labour Department inquiry into workers’ exposure to poisonous fumes at a Cato Ridge ferromanganese smelter dismissed because of alleged bias was itself dismissed to loud cheers on Tuesday afternoon by the inquiry’s presiding officer, departmental inspector Vuli Sibisi.

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/ 20 February 2008

Armed robber convicted of murders

An armed robber was convicted on Tuesday of the murders of a fellow gang member and a businessman who shot each other during a R20 000 robbery in Pietermaritzburg. Judge Ron McLaren convicted Cato Ridge gangster John Ndawonde (35) — who pleaded guilty to the aggravated robbery of well-known vintner De Wet Joubert (64).