Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe says government will meet with labour to challenge the decision by Impala Platinum (Implats) to retrench 13 000 workers.
Speaking to the media in Pretoria, Mantashe has labelled the move by Impala Platinum as an old tactic used to scare workers in order to reduce jobs.
He has also accused Implats of ignoring his proposal to allow smaller operators to take over shafts that are not profitable.
“You put a big number so that the labour movement come to you belly crawling and beg so that you retrench 8000 and you’re seemed to have saved 5000. It’s an old tactic. We are going to have a meeting with labour; we want to compare notes with them. The industry comes to us without exhausting all discussion they want to issue section 189 for labour, we think is unethical [and it] cannot [be] allowed to happen,” explains Mantashe.
Impala, the world second biggest platinum miner has announced that it will cut 13 000 jobs. It will also close five of its 11 shafts in the platinum belt. This comes after another platinum producer, Lonmin, laid off 2500 workers.
While it was already projected that mining houses may cut jobs due to plummeting metal prices and low production, the 13 000 figure was never expected.
Mantashe described the announcement as careless, saying Impala is acting in bad faith, and prioritising profit over any other thing.
The Rustenburg municipality, whose economy relies mainly on mining, has embarked on plans to diversify the local economy.
The Rustenburg Chamber of Commerce says they have been anticipating this — and reveal that they looking at other means to help absorb the effects of retrenchments.
