FRIDAY, 8:00AM:
A LABOUR court has ordered the striking Harmony mine workers back to work from this morning. Mine management has also warned that strikers who forcibly evicted ‘official’ union shaft stewards from their offices will face charges.
THURSDAY, 11:00AM:
THE National Union of Mineworkers has blamed Harmony mine management for a strike by an unofficial faction of the union which has formed its own structures and forced ‘official’ shaft stewards from their offices. The union says mine management ‘could have been more proactive” in dealing with grievances in the spirit of agreements signed by the union.
Mine management has meanwhile announced that it is likely to seek a court order to halt the strike, which is costing the mine 48kg of gold per day.
WEDNESDAY, 11:00AM:
ALMOST 7 000 miners went on strike on Tuesday at the Harmony gold mine in the Free State, in protest against a new wages contract signed last month.
The contract links the miners’ wages to the mine’s productivity, which has been flagging in the past few months with Harmony posting disappointing results for the September quarter. The workers have not as yet made any official demands to management, but did not turn up for work on the night shift last night, despite an ultimatum issued by the managing director. About half the workers are on strike, and production at five shafts has been seriously affected.
The National Union of Mineworkers has distanced itself from the strike, announcing yesterday the strikers were mobilised by a non-union faction.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
LIBYAN HELPS BRING DOWN PRICES CENTRAL Energy Fund chairman Don Mkhwanazi revealed on Thursday that he appointed controversial Liberian Emmanuel Shaw to help bring down petrol prices and to aid job creation. As a result, he had made powerful enemies, and many of the accusations against him were racially inspired.
Meanwhile the Mail & Guardian won a court interdict on Thursday brought by Shaw’s lawyers to prevent the publication on Friday of a further investigation into the ‘Liberian connection’. Justice M Flemming said evidence against Shaw had already been widely published and publication was in the public interest. If the articles were substantially correct, they would “create a smell which reaches very high up”.
Shaw’s lawyers insist that the judge found the articles defefamatory, and said they would sue for damages next week.
AIRPORT CHARGES ILLEGAL In a ruling that could affect airport suppliers from petrol companies to caterers the high court has ruled that concession fees the Airports Company charges the ground handling firm, Swift Handling Services, are illegal. The Airports Company has been laying concession fees of anywhere from 1% to 8% of turnover on its providers, and threatened Swift with exclusion from a tender because it owned the company R1,2-million in concession fees in its case, 8% of turnover. The Airports Company, which has apparently been renovating Johannesburg Airport for the several years it has been running it, is due for partial privatisation next year.
HERE COMES BINGO The Viva Trust, best-known for scratch-card games, is intending to bring bingo to South Africa with a chain of 500 to 1 000-seat clubs across the country. With the Lotteries Bill requiring scratch-card operators to cease operations one week before the introduction of a national lottery, due next year, the trust has announced the formation of the Viva Bingo company.
SWEDISH BOOM SWEDISH companies, which kept out of South Africa throughout the sanctions era, expect a 50% increase in investment next year over the R94 million invested in 1996. There are 36 Swedish companies with offices in South Africa, whose turnover is expected to reach R4,6 billion next year, up 48% from 1996. This could go up even further if Saab wins a combat aircraft defence contract from SA, now under tender.
BA SLICES AFRICA IN THREE BRITISH Airways is expanding its African operations by splitting them into three separate operations, for east, west and south. The entire management structure will be reshuffled at the end of this year.