Statement issued by Gideon du Plessis, Deputy general secretary: Solidarity, November 15 2010:
Solidarity to take Aurora to Labour Court
Ongoing Pamodzi liquidation process and social crisis at Aurora scrutinised
The trade union Solidarity today announced that it is taking the mining company Aurora Empowerment Systems to the Labour Court for the outstanding wages and statutory deductions such as pension fund contributions, UIF and PAYE that were never transferred to the respective institutions. Solidarity and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) discussed the sluggish Pamodzi liquidation process and the social crisis at Aurora during a joint media conference today.
According to Gideon du Plessis, deputy general secretary of Solidarity, Aurora's failure to transfer the pension fund, UIF and PAYE deductions to the relevant institutions boils down to plain theft from poor workers. It is furthermore a statutory requirement for mine workers to be covered by insurance for occupational health and safety, which includes death and disability coverage. However, Aurora knowingly failed to provide for the latter, despite numerous promises to unions, the authorities and the media that they would comply with prevailing legislation and regulations.
In addition, Solidarity made six urgent requests to the Master of the High Court, relevant state departments and other stakeholders to try and alleviate the developing social crisis at the East Rand mines.
Solidarity called for the following:
- The Master of the High Court to urgently investigate the dealings of certain liquidators, especially the role and conduct of Mr Enver Motala. In this regard, Solidarity proposed the suspension of Mr Motala as liquidator pending an investigation.
- The Master of the High Court to investigate the effective functioning of the team of liquidators that was appointed by the Master and also to establish which liquidator/s gave permission to Aurora to sell off and remove some of the assets of the mines.
- The relevant state departments to actively assist Solidarity and the NUM in the unions' fight to get Aurora to face the legal consequences for their alleged unlawful actions.
- The Department of Trade and Industry to place pressure on the secured creditors, namely the IDC (Orkney mine) and Unicredit/HVB (East Rand mines), to bring the matter to a close.
- Standard Bank to either withdraw from this process or start to take the initiative to get the matter resolved.
- Aurora to be removed from the management at the mines and the respective mines and liquidation process to be placed under the direct care of the Master of the High Court and Department of Mineral Resources.
- A forensic audit to be conducted into the dealings of Aurora since they took over the mining operations in October 2009.
Solidarity informed the liquidators a few months ago of various clauses that Aurora had breached since October 2009 in terms of the interim trading agreement. "From the date Aurora was appointed in October 2009, they failed to comply with the provisions of the interim trading agreement and infringed on the constitutional rights of the employees by depriving them of their right to have their dignity respected.
Aurora also infringed on the employees' right to fair labour practice as a result of the non-payment of wages, creating an unsafe environment by polluting the area with untreated mine water, taking away their right to housing and having access to food, water and social security," said Du Plessis. "Furthermore, the said non-payment of wages does not only constitute a breach of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, but also turned the employees into slaves by making them work without the hope of receiving a salary," according to Du Plessis.
Aurora is still regarded as the so-called preferred bidder by Mr Enver Motala, who refers to himself as the lead liquidator, Standard Bank, the business consultants to the liquidators, as well as Unicredit/Hypovereins Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the secured creditors.
"These individuals and institutions have blood on their hands and have destroyed the lives of thousands of mineworkers, creditors and their families. In addition, they have allowed a mining asset, which was once regarded as an attractive asset to purchase, to be destroyed," said Du Plessis. "Mr Motala defends Aurora's unacceptable conduct on an ongoing basis, which poses a major question regarding his own ethics, political ties and agenda. It is also concerning that Mr Motala accompanied the Aurora delegations to China, without the knowledge and consent of his fellow liquidators, to source a new funder after two funders had withdrawn," Du Plessis added.
The late payment and non-payment of employees at Pamodzi Gold, which was later placed under provisional liquidation, started in November 2008. "After Aurora Empowerment Systems had been appointed by the liquidators to take over the responsibility for the Pamodzi mining operations and staff in terms of an interim trading agreement, the plight of the workers got even worse," said du Plessis. "Now, these poor employees are entering their third Christmas season with total uncertainty regarding their future and ability to provide for their families and other dependants," he added.
Statement issued by Frans Baleni, NUM general secretary, November 15 2010:
NUM on the AURORA case
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is frustrated by the lack of action from a series of government departments which includes amongst others; the Department of Mineral Resources; the Department of Labour; Water Affairs and others. Whilst we await the outcome of our petition to the Master Court, we are acutely frustrated by the love relationship that exists between Aurora and the Pamodzi liquidators.
Amid reports of assets striping and looting, the liquidators failed dismally to make any decisive intervention.
"We are also making an appeal to the ANC, Cosatu affiliates and business leaders make a contribution of any kind to assist these workers, it is going to be another dry and black Christmas" says Frans Baleni, the NUM General Secretary.
As the National Union of Mineworkers, we have engaged in a series of action as listed in the annexure to try and resolve the AURORA debacle. We marched to the liquidators to protest their inaction to no avail. We appealed to the Department of Mineral Resources, Department of Labour as well as Water Affairs to no avail.
The Union wonders whether the AURORA directors are so powerful and feared that no single government department is prepared to take action against them even in the context of glaring unlawfulness.
The NUM has repeatedly assisted its members at both Grootvlei and Orkney mines and believes it cannot be right that the Aurora Directors continue to live a high exotic life when it has turned poor workers into beggars.
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