Johannesburg - A National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) youth leader's house has been burnt down in Orange Farm, in the Vaal area south of Johannesburg, allegedly by members of an opposition union, the NUM said on Sunday.
"The National Union of Mineworkers Youth Structure (NUM-YS) is disturbed and concerned by the recent acts of crime and barbarian that it observed in Orange Farm in the Vaal area in Gauteng where our youth leader (Tebogo Litelu) house was burnt down by alleged Amcu [Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union] hooligans on Friday [sic]," NUM-YS national secretary Bonginkosi Mrasi said.
Tebogo Litelu was branch chairperson of Vaal Sanitary, a manufacturing company under construction where the NUM was organising, he said.
"This is a direct attack to NUM and its members with the view to shift or destroy NUM in all workplaces where we organise, and as the NUM-YS we are prepared to fight back with all resources we have to defend the NUM and its entire membership," Mrasi said.
"We further call for local law enforcement agencies to take this matter seriously and all perpetrators must be brought to book as soon as possible. It is very sad that these hooligans are fighting fellow workers instead of fighting their class enemy which is the employer," Mrasi said.