NUM rejects planned retrenchments at Gold Fields mine

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has rejected planned retrenchments at Gold Fields’ South Deep operations.

At least 1000 of the mine’s 5000 workforce face retrenchments due to financial losses.

Workers from the mine are on strike since Friday.

NUM’s South Deep branch chairperson Kanetso Matabane says although the mine has already issued letters of termination to the workers, the union will not accept the move.

“We are in disagreement, Gold Fields has been retrenching people since 2008. In 2008 we had to lose about 1800 jobs up until to date they’ve been changing their management structures, their VPs, general managers, they change so many in a ten years period. They’re undermining our skills, they brought Australians who are unable to operate and they’re claiming that for a period of 11-years they’re not making profit. Our argument is that we do not agree with retrenchments at all, it’s unnecessary; it is because of poor management by Gold Fields,” says Matabane.

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