The National Union of Mineworkers on Wednesday accused gold producer Durban Roodepoort Deep of being hell-bent on retrenching its employees even though alternatives existed.
”It has become clear that the company wants nothing else but retrenchments,” NUM spokesperson Moferefere Lekorotsoana said in a statement.
He said NUM officials met DRD managers on Wednesday in a bid to save the jobs of 3 000 mineworkers at Haaties — one of two troubled DRD operations in the North West.
But it was clear that DRD was ”hell-bent” on retrenching the 3 000 miners after management rejected proposals designed to halt the retrenchments, and save the miners’ jobs.
Lekorotsoana said the proposals from NUM were, among others, that DRD put its workforce on an extended leave while an evaluation exercise was being carried out.
Miners should return to work once the evaluation was finish and there was conclusion on the matter of saving the mine and the jobs, Lekorotsoana said.
”DRD has flatly rejected these proposals, indicating that it simply intends to retrench and has already begun the process of communicating with the affected workers.
”In our view, this indicates that DRD is engaging with us on the basis of preconceived positions, namely, those of deepening the misery of these mineworkers,” he said.
Union leaders would be consulting with members of NUM over the next two days to seek a mandate and direction, given that there was no agreement, he said.
The jobs of 1 500 miners were saved last week after NUM and DRD agreed not to go ahead with retrenchments at Buffels, another DRD operation in the North West.
DRD announced earlier on Wednesday that 2700 mineworkers would definitely be retrenched at its Harties operation in the North West. Spokesperson Deon van der Mescht said the retrenchment of miners would go ahead irrespective of the outcome of talks the firm and NUM held on Wednesday.
The talks were about possible outsourcing of shafts at the troubled DRD operations in the North West, he said in a statement.
”Terminations were going ahead but not in an effort to reduce wages or other conditions of employment for remaining employees.
”We have signalled our willingness to accommodate a two-month due diligence process of the targeted business units in order for the parties to make an informed decision as to whether or not the placement of ex-employees, affected by retrenchment … will be financially viable,” Van der Mescht said.
”We also lent our support to the notion that a condition of any potential future agreements reached with suitably qualified, independent operators be that preference is given to retrenched employees when they meet their labour requirements.
”This, we believe, could significantly soften the blow of the job cuts we now have to make,” Van der Mescht said.
But Lekorotsoana said: ”DRD would rather outsource, letting workers toil under substandard conditions while they rake in the riches.
”On the one hand, while the company compounds the national unemployment crisis it is, on the other hand, planning to buy Australian assets with up to $100-million, roughly over R700-million.
”This demonstrates clearly where DRD’s priorities reside. They will (do) everything in their power to make the rich richer and the poor even poorer,” he said. – Sapa