The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is seeking the intervention of Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to save the jobs of more than 1 000 workers from Seriti Resources who are facing retrenchment to ensure the company’s mines operate on a commercially sustainable basis.
Seriti Resources purchased South32’s South African thermal coal business recently while it also operates assets formerly owned by Anglo American. The company, which operates large-scale opencast and underground mines, is a big supplier of thermal coal to Eskom.
Seriti Resources confirmed to Business Report yesterday that it had started a Section 189A consultation processes on September 16.
It said this was likely to affect “up to 1 241 roles, of which 1 137 employees are likely to be retrenched” from its Middelburg Mines, Klipspruit and its corporate services team. The team was being resized to “service a smaller base of operational” mines.
The initiation of the consultation process under Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act took the NUM Highveld Region by complete surprise. It said yesterday that it had been “taken aback and angered by the total disrespect and impulsive decision taken by Seriti Resources to retrench mineworkers”.
In addition to engaging Mantashe, NUM Highveld regional chairperson Bizzah Motubatse said they were now “embarking on a massive mobilisation to try and stop Seriti Resources from undermining unions by retrenching employees willy-nilly”.
“The massive retrenchment by Seriti Resources has subjected our members to unemployment and abject poverty. What is so astonishing is that in Klipspruit, Seriti Resources replaced permanent employees with contractors; the main objective is to exploit and maximise profit,” Motubatse said.
The NUM said Seriti Resources was sacrificing jobs to execute a new business model that favours contract employees instead of permanent jobs at a cheaper labour cost.
However, Seriti said by email yesterday that it was “critical to ensure that every coal mine that we own and operate is commercially sustainable”.
It said that its operations at Middelburg and at Klipspruit south-east pit, as well as at Klipspruit opencast, were “not currently commercially sustainable and require material restructuring to improve unit costs” and future prospects.
Moreover, the operations were adversely being impacted by Transnet under-performance and general market volatility.
“We recognise that this exercise will negatively impact our workforce and local communities. We have not taken this step lightly. We will continue to engage openly and constructively with our employees and organised labour to ensure the best outcome for all concerned,” said Mike Teke, CEO of Seriti Resources.
Despite the friction with labour unions over the planned retrenchments, Seriti said it remained fully committed to honouring its coal supply obligations to Eskom, inland customers and to its export markets.
NUM, however, insisted that Seriti Resources should sell the non-profitable operations if it is unable to run and operate them.
The union accused Seriti Resources of not having regard for organised labour groups. It was now looking to Mantashe to intervene.
“The level of unemployment in the country is very high, therefore we cannot allow Seriti Resources to sleep and the moment they wake up, they retrench,” said NUM.
Seriti is not the only mining company that is embarking on a retrenchment process this year as the jobs bloodbath has affected thousands of workers from miners such as Sibanye-Stillwater, Anglo American Platinum, and Impala Platinum, as mining executives lower down-cost pressures.
BUSINESS REPORT