SKILLED MINERS WANT OUT
Lonmin rejects the resignations
EMBATTLED platinum producer Lonmin is trapped between a rock and a hard place as hundreds of staff members with critical skills want to jump ship.
National Union of Mineworkers chief negotiator at Lonmin, Erick Gcilitshana, said yesterday that the company recently rejected applications from 600 workers for voluntary severance packages as they were deemed to possess critical skills.
The company initiated the Section 189 process, commonly known as a retrenchment process, in July with an aim of laying off 6 000 workers as it planned to close some of its under-performing shafts.
Gcilitshana said the number of workers facing retrenchments was later reduced to 2 900.
However, instead of the retrenchment process attracting workers from all divisions, a large concentration of those who wanted to leave came from the engineering and production departments.
“Lonmin has declined 600 VSPs (voluntary severance packages) due to the critical skills of the employees that the company does not want to lose,” said Gcilitshana.
“Some of the people want to leave because they see the company is under-performing.
“Others want to leave because they fear that if the company closes down, they might end up leaving with nothing,” he said.
He said the company informed the unions that due to the closure of some of the mines it would have to retrench 2 900 workers because they could not be absorbed by other operations.
Lonmin executive vice-president Lerato Molebatsi said: “We have just over 2 000 voluntary separations and the union is also aware of the shaft closures.”
She said Section 189 process was being facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbritration.
“We are still talking to the unions and going ahead with the Section 189,” said Molebatsi.
Her comments came as the majority union at the company, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union ’ s president Joseph Mathunjwa recently said Lonmin had not spoken to workers about its strategy to raise R5.7-billion by selling shares at a 94% discount.
Mathunjwa could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Gcilitshana said: “The issue of Lonmin seeking financial injection is something we have, unfortunately, heard about from the media.”
He said shareholders should vote in favour of the rights issue or else the company would collapse and affect between 36 000 and 38 000 jobs.