STUART GRAHAM, Durban | Thursday
MEMBERS of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) at steel and metal company BHP Billiton’s mines in Hillside and Alusaf Bayside in Richards Bay will not be allowed to embark on a solidarity strike on Thursday.
London-based BHP Billiton made an urgent application to the Durban Labour Court on Wednesday to interdict the workers from striking in solidarity with workers in Witbank and Middleburg.
The judge in the case postponed the hearing to Friday, denying the Richards Bay workers the right to strike on Thursday.
Billiton representative Michael Campbell said the company received a strike notice from Numsa last Wednesday about the intended labour action, which was expected to start on Thursday at the Richards Bay plants.
Numsa representative Dumisa Ntuli said Thursday’s strike would have involved 8 000 workers at Hillside, Alusaf Bayside, Highveld Steel in Witbank, Columbus Stainless Steel in Middleburg, Samancor in Meyerton and Palmiet and MMC in Krugersdorp.
It was not yet clear if Numsa workers from the other parts of the country would embark on the solidarity strike after Wednesday’s court postponement.
Ntuli said the union would hold meetings countrywide on Thursday morning to inform their members on what happened in court.
He said workers had already embarked on a go-slow to prepare for the sympathy strike.
”It is not a strike at the moment,” Ntuli said.
”Workers are just working slower than normal as a form of protest.”
Campbell said the employees were striking over a wage dispute at Samancor Chrome Alloy plants in Witbank, Middelburg and Tubatse in Mpumalanga.
Samancor is a subsidiary of BHP Billiton.
The company is offering a 5,5% wage increase, while Numsa is demanding 15%.
The union also wants a two-year wage agreement, a moratorium on retrenchments and outsourcing, an end to the downward variation of conditions of employment and an analysis to be done by an independent consultant to determine the short and long term effects of Billiton’s medical aid policy.
The company has cited a very weak economic market, stiff competition in the industry and the annual inflation figures as reasons for their reluctance to move beyond their offer.
Campbell said additional contract workers had been employed at the Mpumalanga plants through a contracted company and that production had so far not been significantly affected by the strike.
”We normally have contract workers. We only got additional ones to keep production up.”
Campbell said a fresh round of negotiations to sort out the wage dispute started last Friday morning between Numsa and Samancor Chrome Alloys.
Ntuli said the strike would be protracted because the three day meeting had failed to yield a positive result.
He said Billiton had applied for the interdict because of the false view that the company was not related to the striking Samancor companies.
”We have evidence that they are related,” Ntuli said.
Three-hundred workers have been arrested in Witbank since the strike began.
It is alleged that the workers were involved in burning a delivery vehicle.
Ntuli criticised Billiton for using the police and the courts to settle a ”legitimate” strike.
He said the company had created tension and conflict by blockading the gates to the Witbank mine.
Campbell, however, was positive that the two groups would reach an agreement.
He said Billiton’s management were ”encouraged” by the progress made in discussions and was looking for ways to move forward.
Ntuli said the action would continue until the employers acceded to the union’s wage demands. – Sapa