Johannesburg - Sibanye-Stillwater said on Thursday that the Labour Court has granted it an urgent interdict against two rival unions, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), in a bid to prevent further violence at its operations in South Africa.
This as a number of workers affiliated to both unions were injured after they were shot at and stabbed, with one killed, at Beatrix mine in Welkom and at Kloof mine in Johannesburg after violent clashes when the strike by Amcu members commenced on Wednesday night.
Sibanye's interdict seeks to prevent the unions and their members from committing acts of violence, harassment or intimidation; stopping any other employees from going to work; and interfering with the company's service providers, suppliers, or its customers.
Sibanye chief executive Neal Froneman, said they were relieved now that non-striking workers will be able to come to work without interference.
"We are relieved to have received the interdict, which will ensure that non-striking employees must be allowed to exercise their right to work, in the same way as we have respected Amcu’s right to strike," Froneman said.
"The safety of our employees is our primary concern and we are hopeful that the levels of intimidation and violence affecting our operations since the strike began will reduce and we can avoid further tragic incidents. We wish to thank our stakeholders for supporting the interdict in the interest of all employees’ safety."
Froneman said more information will be shared in due course relating to the operations. Sibanye has already suspended all night shifts for the duration of the strike in order to ensure the safety of employees.
Earlier on Thursday, Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said that he has written to ministers of police and mineral resources, requesting them to urgently intervene and prevent the escalation of violence.
About 15 000 Amcu members embarked on a protected strike at Sibanye from midnight Wednesday after deadlock at wage negotiations as they demand R12 500 salaries plus R1 000 increment every year for three years. Last week, Sibanye signed a wage agreement with three other unions which agreed to lesser packages than what Amcu demands.