The retrenchment of about 3 000 workers at the Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRD) gold mine in the North West is continuing as planned, company spokesperson Ilja Graulich said on Friday.
He said about 155 workers have been offered voluntary retrenchment packages and another 129 have been retired as per agreement with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Compulsory retrenchment notices were being served on about 2 700 employees.
”The [retrenchment] process is going according to plan but we do not have a time frame as to when it will end,” Graulich said.
The NUM’s North West secretary, Hoyce Pundulu, said that, in terms of the agreement with the company, the retrenchment process would be carried out in two phases.
”We expect some of the workers to be redeployed to other DRD gold mines in the country and others sent to other mines as part of the first phase.”
Pundulu said the remaining laid-off workers would undergo a skills training programme called ”the social plan” as part of the second phase.
The plan would be spearheaded by the labour department and the DRD.
”Once workers finish the training programme, they will be sent home where their respective municipalities will offer them vacancies according to the skills they have learnt.”
Pundulu said the department, the union and the DRD were meeting in Pretoria on Friday to identify workers who would take part in the skills programme.
Graulich said the DRD had provided R2-million to fund the social plan.
”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, through some form of special purpose vehicle or vehicles will be financially viable,” he 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.” — Sapa