Dineo Faku

Trade unions have blamed Impala Platinum (Implats) for failing to provide security for intimidated workers at its Rustenburg operations as the mining firm fired 13 000 more workers yesterday, increasing the scalp tally to 17 200.

“Impala Platinum has dismissed 13 000 mining employees who participated in the illegal work stoppage at Impala Rustenburg… and who failed to return to work by Wednesday,” the company said yesterday.

“This brings the total number of employees dismissed to the region of 17 200.”

Impala said it was losing 3 000 ounces of production a day since the strike started.

“We said to Implats they must provide security, but they refused,” Lesiba Seshoka, the national spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), said yesterday.

The NUM’s parent federation, Cosatu, has also added its voice to the fray, demanding that Implats reinstate all dismissed mineworkers.

Deirdre Venter, a partner at Webber Wentzel, said the fired workers would still have recourse through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, and the Labour Court.

“If employees told the employer they were being intimidated during the strike, then their dismissal may not be fair. Intimidation is a common problem during industrial action when part of the workforce is forced to participate in an illegal strike,” he said.

The strike, which began with 5 000 rock drillers downing tools over being excluded from an 18 percent increase given to other categories, was declared illegal by the Labour Court in Johannesburg.

The initial 5 000 workers were dismissed after continuing to stay away despite a court order that they return to work as the strike was illegal.

Other workers who benefited from the increase had since joined the protest in sympathy, adding to the numbers being dismissed.

The initial 5 000 workers had been ordered to return to work on January 27. When only a handful returned to work, the company was granted a second interdict by the Labour Court, setting a February 1 deadline for them to return to work, and for the strikers to stop intimidation of other workers.

The incident is the second in eight months in the platinum mining sector.

Lonmin fired over 9 000 workers at its Rustenburg mine in May last year for participating in a strike that followed leadership squabbles within the NUM. However, the staff were later rehired.

Implats fell 2.5 percent to R170.68 on the JSE yesterday.