Mining village victory hailed

Xolobeni community can say no to mining on their land.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said yesterday that five of its members had been attacked by a rival union at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Beatrix mine in Welkom, the Free State, leaving one of them dead.

Violence broke out on Wednesday night during a strike by rival Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at Be- atrix and Sibanye’s Kloof mine in Gauteng.

Xolisa Nqwiliso, NUM branch secretary at Beatrix, said their member died after being shot, while four others were seriously injured after they were randomly attacked in a bus, allegedly by Amcu members.

But Amcu appeared to claim the dead and injured workers as their own, who were allegedly provoked by NUM members after their meeting to iron out last-minute details about their strike.

Nqwiliso urged law enforcement agencies to hunt down and arrest the perpetrators, and also called on Sibanye to ensure that workers were protected.

The company currently employs about 32 200 people. – ANA