Johannesburg - Trade union Solidarity on Wednesday denounced the proposed new Mining Charter on black economic empowerment (BEE).
The union says the proposed charter could mean devastating consequences for the ailing mining industry.
Solidarity has joined growing criticism about “lack of consultation” over the draft Mining Charter published by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in the Government Gazette last Friday, which requires 26 percent black ownership of mining rights at all times.
The South African Chamber of Mines has expressed surprise at the publication of the new Charter, saying “it was not a tripartite draft that included industry and labour”.
The opposition Democratic Alliance also slated the Charter, saying it was the African National Congress's “suicide note” for the industry, and warning that it would cause a jobs bloodbath if implemented.
Solidarity concurred with these concerns, saying the timing of the new proposed charter was most perturbing in the wake of the retrenchment bloodbath that was prevailing in the mining industry at the moment.
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Solidarity general secretary, Gideon du Plessis, in a statement on Wednesday, said the DMR was attempting to enforce the charter amid trade unions and other players' struggle to save thousands of jobs in the industry.
“The DMR should rather now make an effort to create a more favourable investment environment as opposed to trying to push through a draft charter that will have the opposite effect,” Du Plessis said.
Du Plessis said the provision in the new charter in terms of which proposed black representation levels have to be as high as 88 percent was extremely inflexible and unrealistic.
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“Although the principle of empowerment is understandable, those unrealistic targets would, in reality, be to the detriment of the entire mining industry. Moreover, companies would have to poach employees and managers from each other as the demand for skilled workers exceeds what the training system can produce,” Du Plessis said.
He added the provision in the charter, in terms of which mines could lose their mining licences should they not adhere to the charter, was of particular concern.
In the new amended Charter, the absence of the previous Charter's focus on sustainability and occupational health and safety was disappointing, he said.
“This sends a message that transformation has become more important than the sustainability of the mining sector and the safety of workers.” Du Plessis furthermore warned that the charter in its present form created the potential for numerous court actions “due to unconstitutional, illegal and unfair clauses”.
Mineral Resources Minister, Mosebenzi Zwane, on Tuesday announced that he would hold a two-day meeting with mining bosses to discuss the new draft Mining Charter, after he came under fire from opposition parties in Parliament during his department's budget vote speech.
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