Northam bosses appeal to miners

File photo: Supplied

File photo: Supplied

Published Jun 8, 2016

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Johannesburg - Northam Platinum’s Zondereinde mine bosses yesterday urged employees to return to work, saying calm had returned to the mine where two employees were killed in violent clashes.

The call follows a meeting between mine management and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on the union’s demand that management and police provide them with safety guarantees after a spate of murders.

Read: Zwane appeals for calm after deadly union clashes

Underground mining activities were suspended after the killing of a Zondereinde employee on Sunday. Another employee was killed near the mine on Monday morning in continued disruptions.

The mine said talks with all parties to reach a constructive conclusion to the current impasse continued.

Northam chief executive Paul Dunne called on all parties to act responsibly, saying: “We urge all parties to exercise leadership following these tragic incidents, in the interests of safety for all.”

The Chamber of Mines, which accounts for 90 percent of the country’s mining production, yesterday said: “(We are) concerned these violent acts have sparked incidents of protest at the mine, as well as vocal and inflammatory comments by some parties.

“Though the public discourse has assumed the violence was triggered by a bout of inter-union rivalry, there is in fact no firm evidence of this. It is unhelpful to propagate this idea without good reason.”

Reuters reported that Northam had suspended production at the mine on Monday after a worker was fatally stabbed during a clash between members of the NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).

A Northam spokeswoman said five employees had died over the past year in what she described as separate isolated incidents that occurred off the mine site and were being investigated by the police.

The spokeswoman confirmed that the mine remained closed yesterday.

NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said the union’s members would not return to work until safety was assured at the mine.

“The police have not arrested the perpetrators and our members are worried they will be killed. They do not want to return to work until it is safe.”

Northam, which reported a first-half loss in February after being hit by low platinum prices, impairments and charges relating to a black empowerment deal, said it had prioritised safety and aimed to ensure “safe passage for employees”.

Mammburu said the union, which is the majority union at Northam, planned to hold a mass meeting at the mine yesterday to demand police and management address the workers and assure them about the steps being taken to quell the violence.

Amcu has unseated the NUM as the main union in the platinum belt in recent years in often-violent circumstances.

Northam Platinum shares gained 3.48 percent yesterday to close at R44.25.

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