Mantashe censures Gold Fields for not finding alternative to job cuts
MINERAL Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has reprimanded Gold Fields for failing to find alternatives to axing 1 560 employees at its South Deep mine outside Johannesburg, where the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has been on strike for three weeks. Mantashe said he met Gold Fields top bosses on Monday in a bid to find alternatives to the job cuts.
He said he was unhappy at the way in which the process had unfolded. “They have merely engaged in a tickbox exercise for compliance purposes,” he said. “This is a disturbing approach, and we remain unhappy with the way the process has unfolded thus far.”
South Deep, which has one of the world’s largest gold reserves, commenced a Section 189 process in August to retrench up to 1 560 employees as it loses R100 million a month. The mine halted production, saying it was losing about R6m a day, as revenue losses were partially offset by lower operating costs, including the application of the no-work, no-pay rule. NUM general secretary David Sipunzi, who was also at the meeting, yesterday also criticised South Deep management for rejecting various suggestions to turn the mine around.
Sipunzi said the union had tabled concrete proposals to the company to avoid the job losses. “We suggested that workers go on unpaid leave for six months to avoid putting over 1 000 people on the streets all at once,” Sipunzi said.