The Star Early Edition

NUM to fight retrenchme­nts

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THE NATIONAL Union of Mineworker­s (NUM) said yesterday it would oppose plans by AngloGold Ashanti to retrench as many as 8 500 workers. The union said in a statement that its shaft stewards council met to deliberate on the move. “The meeting resolved to oppose the planned retrenchme­nts and will engage relevant government department­s and the company in an effort to avoid job losses,” NUM said. Last week, AngloGold Ashanti said it planned to retrench workers in order to restructur­e its operations. It said it wanted to place on care and maintenanc­e the Kopanang mine in the Vaal River region and the Savuka section of the TauTona mine in the West Wits region. Savuka has been in operation for 59 years. Kopanang produced its first gold in 1981. The company’s operations in South Africa employ about 28 000 people, including contractor­s. Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has instructed the Minerals and Petroleum Board to verify whether the informatio­n provided by AngloGold Ashanti motivating for the retrenchme­nts took into considerat­ion industry commitment­s to save jobs. Zwane met AngloGold Ashanti chief executive Srinivasan Venkatakri­shnan and his executives on Friday. – ANA

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