The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is locked in a fierce battle with Seriti Resources following the miner’s controversial announcement that it would lay off more than 1 000 employees.
The decision, triggered by what Seriti describes as unmanageable operational challenges stemming from Transnet’s underperformance and market volatility, has sent shockwaves through the industry and the local community.
Seriti Resources recently told Business Report that its multi-product operations at Middelburg Mine Services (MMS) and at Klipspruit South-East pit, together with related opencast activities, required material restructuring to improve unit costs and enhance prospects of future sustainability.
This had necessitated the commencement of retrenchment proceedings that are set to affect 1 137 employees across the MMS and Klipspruit operations as well as from the company’s corporate services department, which is to be re-sized to service a smaller base of operational mines.
NUM has been trying to engage the Department of Mineral Resources to intervene and help halt the retrenchments, although it said these engagements and discussions with Seriti have not yielded positive results.
“We are calling on the DMRE to revoke all the Mining Licenses that were given to Seriti Resources,” said NUM yesterday.
In an emailed response to Business Report questions, Seriti Resources said yesterday: “The Section 189 process is still in progress and Seriti is engaging with stakeholders for this reason we are not able to elaborate beyond our (earlier) response.”
In the earlier response in September, Mike Teke, group CEO for Seriti said the company recognised that the retrenchments “will negatively impact our workforce and local communities” and added that the decision to lay off the workers had not “been taken lightly”.
He stated that Seriti was committed to “engage openly and constructively with our employees and organised labour to ensure the best outcome” for all concerned.
Seriti, the NUM, and other partners have been holding meetings to halt the ongoing processes of retrenching the employees.
The NUM charged that despite the engagements between Seriti and workers unions that had resolved to halt retrenchment processes, the company was still going ahead retrenching the workers.
“The so called new business model literally means that Seriti Resources intends to replace the permanent employment with contractors such as the Blu Mining company in Klipspruit,” said the NUM.
It explained that it had submitted a memorandum to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMRE) detailing the planned retrenchments by Seriti and calling on the department to intervene.
“To our surprise and up to this date, the DMRE has not bothered itself in responding to our memorandum. The NUM has written several letters to the DMRE requesting urgent meetings without any positive responses.”
Nonetheless, Seriti insisted that it was critical to ensure that every coal mine that it owns and operates was commercially sustainable as it remained committed to “honouring its coal supply obligations to Eskom, inland customers and the export” market.
BUSINESS REPORT