Thousands of members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) are on strike at the Northam Platinum mines near Thabazimbi, union leaders said on Thursday.
The strike has already cost the company an estimated R24-million.
Chairperson of the NUM in the Rustenburg region, Elfas Ngoepe, said more than 7 000 workers had been on strike since April 29, demanding the dismissal of the company’s human resource manager and his assistant.
Workers have accused the two of being racist and not treating workers well.
”Workers are suspended without pay and in some case their cases are re-opened even though they had been dealt with,” Ngoepe said.
He said workers also wanted the CEO of the company to relocate from Northam to the mine’s head office.
Meanwhile, trade union Solidarity’s members were not participating in the strike.
Spokesperson Reint Dykema said Solidarity members were not taking part but were refusing to perform the duties of striking employees, affecting production at the mine.
”A large portion of the labour force is taking part in the strike and the striking workers do not allow any visitors to enter the mine property,” said Dykema.
”Tension has been running high at the mine for some time now about the way in which Northam Platinum management deals with labour,” he said.
Spokesperson for the mine, Marion Brower, said 5 500 employees began the ”unprotected work stoppage” on Sunday night and the strike continued on Thursday.
”The National Union of Mineworkers is continuing with [an] unprotected strike … in spite of broad acceptance by the union of management proposals tabled at a meeting between the parties yesterday [Wednesday].”
Brower said the employees were primarily demanding the relocation of Northam’s chief executive from the mine to the company’s corporate office in Johannesburg.
She said they were also demanding the removal of two industrial relations officials. – Sapa