Johannesburg - Trade union Solidarity has expressed concern at plans by De Beers to shed as many as 366 jobs in South African mines.
The union claims in a statement issued on Tuesday that this was revealed in a section 189 retrenchment alert.
Anglo American-owned De Beers, long a stalwart in diamond mining and the name most often associated with the gems, plans to cut 152 posts at its Venetia Mine outside Musina, according to the union.
In addition, it claims, the company envisages shedding some 214 posts at some of its other mines in South Africa.
Solidarity General Secretary Gideon du Plessis says this announcement was made shortly before Anglo American’s briefing session where the company said its financial position had seriously deteriorated in the recent past.
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“Anglo American and De Beers want to reduce their mines from 53 to only 16 mines. Moreover, Anglo American wants to reduce its platinum mines in South Africa to only five, and it would sell Kumba Iron Ore. In addition, the company wants to sell all nine its coal mines in South Africa,” Du Plessis said.
This news follows on an announcement by Anglo American that it will sell even more mines, with disposals reaching as much as $6 billion, and raise its debt-reduction plan after a fourth year of losses raised questions about the company’s survival.
This includes the sale of Kumba Iron Ore, which could result in job losses.
Du Plessis is now calling on the companies who will be buying Anglo American’s mines to honour the company’s good standards and conditions of service in a responsible manner.
“We also call upon the new owners of the mines to ensure that there will be no retrenchments at the mines during the takeover process,” Du Plessis says.
Du Plessis also called upon Anglo American and similar companies to be honest about the real reasons for scaling down their South African operations.
“If Anglo American’s scaling down is in fact linked to the unfavourable political climate in South Africa, the company’s management should state this openly. It is high time the government is called to account for their share in the downscaling by large international companies in South Africa.”
IOL