Organised labour has criticised the swathe of job cuts looming in the mining sector, saying the retrenchments appeared planned and co-ordinated as miners sought to reduce costs amid falling commodity prices and persistent power cuts.
The unions called on the government to attend to the electricity and infrastructure challenges to avoid pushing thousands of mineworkers into unemployment and poverty.
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) announced on Monday it had started talks that are likely to result in 3,700 workers losing their jobs across its platinum mining business as it seeks to cut costs by R5bn.
The group reported that profit for the year decreased 71%, due largely to a 35% decline in dollar basket price for platinum group metals (PGMs) over the course of the 2023 financial year.
It said the restructuring was expected to affect 3,700 employees (about 17% of its workforce) while contracts with 620 service providers would also be reviewed.
On Tuesday, Kumba Iron Ore, which is also part of the Anglo American stable, said 490 workers were at risk and contracts with service providers were under review as the world’s fifth-biggest producer of the steel ingredient seeks to cut costs by at least R2.5bn this financial year.
In December, Sibanye-Stillwater announced it had concluded retrenchments at its Kloof 4 gold mine shaft in Gauteng, which resulted in 1,057 workers accepting transfers to its other SA gold operations while 550 at Kloof 4 were granted voluntary severance packages and 348 across its SA gold operations took early retirement packages.
Several other mining companies, including Glencore, Seriti and Impala Platinum, also issued notices of retrenchment in 2023.
National Council of Trade Unions general secretary Narius Moloto said the job cuts were “very unfortunate”, adding that workers were always the victims of economic problems not of their making.
“It appears decisions are made [by mining houses] before they consult ... the trade unions. The process will only be a formality, which is unfair. It is clear that the retrenchments are pre-planned and co-ordinated,” Moloto said.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which is affiliated to the ANC-aligned Cosatu, said it was perturbed and disappointed by the “evil and anti-worker posture” taken by Amplats and Kumba.
“It is without doubt that dozens of families would be plunged into direct poverty since such decisions would affect thousands of workers and contractors,” said NUM deputy general secretary Mpho Phakedi.
“Clearly, for as long as there is still no immediate solution to the electricity crisis and rail and port infrastructure challenges, we will continue to lose jobs. Why are these companies doing that in a country that is faced by huge unemployment rate?
“What is more scandalous is that the government continues to give tax incentives to such companies despite such incentives being used to mechanise and automate workplaces. The question of why is our very own government is a spectator in all these latest developments remained to be answered,” Phakedi said.
In a press statement this week, employment & labour minister Thulas Nxesi said he “acknowledges the difficulties that Amplats ... operates under due to internal and external factors buttressed by geopolitical challenges and economic difficulties faced by many countries”.
He appealed to labour and Amplats management to work together to find an amicable way to avoid or limit job losses.
“The minister has requested the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to facilitate engagement between the parties and is informed that the CCMA has offered the services of its two commissioners to assist in finding amicable solutions. Given its experience in dealing with retrenchments and saving jobs, minister Nxesi urges the parties to use its services,” the department said in a statement.
Nxesi said he had no doubt the parties would be able to find “creative solutions, acceptable to both employees and the company” in dealing with the matter.
Nxesi would also meet mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe “to discuss the challenges faced by the sector and collectively to develop a strategy to mitigate the loss of jobs”, the labour department said.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the retrenchments.
More ahead
Labour analyst Michael Bagraim said job cuts in the sector were expected to “carry on throughout the year” because the government was making it more difficult to investment in the industry.
“All these mining companies that have issued retrenchment notices are effectively on investment strike,” Bagraim said. “Mantashe is interfering a lot in the sector. He has made laws and rules of mining to be so complex, such that the employees’ terms and conditions are interfered with by government.”
“The rolling blackouts and lack of decent access to roads and railway infrastructure is like a perfect storm, where the government is telling the industry: ‘We don’t care about you’,” said Bagraim.
“Quite frankly, I can’t blame the mining houses because they are being told how to run their businesses from A to Z.”
Bagraim, however, said it would be wise for mining houses to hold back on the retrenchments to see “what transpires after the elections, and make their decisions after”.
The 2024 national and provincial elections, where the ANC is widely expected to lose its electoral majority for the first time since 1994, will be held on May 29.
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