The Association of Mine workers and Construction Union (Amcu) says the 72 striking workers at Mogalakwena Anglo American platinum mine will continue with their action until their demands are met. Workers contracted to Concor company are demanding permanent employment at the mine.
The construction workers who are on an unprotected strike include women driving heavy mining machinery at the open cast mine. They have been doing the job for over six years as fixed-term contract workers. The workers say being on contract for years disadvantages them, as they do not get the same incentives as their permanent counterparts.
“It’s painful because now with our payslips we cannot even buy us cars. They say we are not permanent, we are contract workers – we are very much affected because we have been working for this company for a long time. We are not even registered we are temporary workers, and we can’t even afford to go to the bank and ask financial assistance, said one frustrated miner.
One of the workers who want to remain anonymous says he got his hearing compromised while working at the mine but the company is not doing anything to help him.
“They did not do anything for me, they have been promising to fill in forms for compensation for disability but all in vain. They even told me to go and sit at home and they will pay a quarter of my pay but this did not happen also. I’m now depressed because of all this.”
Amcu spokesperson at the mine Prince Malema says they have decided to embark on an unprotected strike after their efforts to talk with their managers failed. He says the local Langa traditional council has also intervened by talking to Concor so that the workers can be appointed on a permanent basis.
“We have been working for this company for six years now, and then we have been trying to speak to management about taking us permanent, but the management failed to do so… they said we as the local community will not be taken on permanently. And then one other thing is allowances – there are people who have been employed in December, those people are getting allowances and we are not getting benefits. So it is painful to us we feel that the company is discriminating us as a local community.”
Management of Concor, an opencast mining company, says the matter is in the Labour court. In a statement, Concor Human Resources Director, Jethro Masike, has indicated that the workers were employed on a temporary basis some years back. He says the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) and other unions in the sector have taken the matter to the Labour Court arguing that as per the 2014 Amendment Labour Relations Act, employees on a fixed-term contract must be offered permanent employment after three months.
Concor is opposing the matter. It however says it will abide by the court ruling. The workers have vowed to continue with
