The strike at South African oil and chemicals group Sasol’s coal mine in Secunda has reached its third day.
More than 1 000 striking Solidarity members resumed their protest action on Thursday morning.
Trade union Solidarity added that the theme of the strike is “Sasol management style gambles with the lives of its workers”.
The workers went on strike on Tuesday, in an effort to persuade Sasol’s management to improve both safety standards and salaries.
Sasol is offering a salary increase of 6,5%, while Solidarity members are demanding 10%.
In a concessionary move, the union said Sasol management would on Thursday grant Solidarity representatives access to the scene of last Wednesday’s explosion.
The trade union was, however, still not included in the internal investigation.
The investigation is being conducted by Sasol, the Department of Labour and the South African police.
The Department of Labour has announced that it is to withdraw the inspectors representing it in the internal investigation for being “too junior”. They are to be replaced by more experienced persons.
Sasol spokesperson Johan van Rheede said that production was running normally even though some workers were absent.
Solidarity has retained the services of Richard Spoor, a well-known occupational safety expert. Spoor will assist the trade union in its inquiry. Spoor is known for having waged, for many years, a legal battle for compensation on behalf of people suffering from asbestosis. – I-Net Bridge