NUMSA condemns Harmony Gold for trying to bully workers into returning to work
17 April 2020
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in Sedibeng is deeply disturbed by the agreement concluded between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Harmony Gold Mine Limited regarding the resumption of full operations effective on the 2nd May 2020. We view this agreement as opportunistic on the part of Harmony Gold management because it is clearly driven by maximization of profits at the expense of human lives.
We also want to take this moment to send or deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus. Forty-eight people have died so far from the virus and 2605 people have been infected and this is increasing daily. Only 95 000 people have been tested, which is far below the daily target of 36 000 tests per day which means that the situation may worsen. Prof Abdool Karim who chairs the Ministerial committee on Covid-19 says we do not yet have any data on whether the lockdown has worked, and therefore as NUMSA we will not be rushed by greedy bosses into going to work, before fully ensuring that workers are safe. We must respect the lockdown, and we urge our members to stay safe and to continue to wash their hands regularly and to maintain good hygiene practices and standards.
We condemn the management of Harmony Gold for taking it upon themselves to make pronouncements about when production will be resumed. Secondly we are extremely dismayed that management did not feel it was necessary to consult all recognised unions on this matter, and chose only to communicate with the NUM. When our shopstewards raised this issue Harmony responded by saying that NUM is the majority union therefore they will be the only union consulted and whatever is agreed will be extended to all other parties. We wish to remind the management of Harmony Gold that we are not negotiating a Main Agreement where the principle of majoritarianism applies. This is a health and safety matter and all stakeholders must be part of the discussion.
We will not be bullied into accepting the terms of an agreement which may be in violation of lockdown. Harmony Gold must do the right thing and consult all unions. And if their intentions were pure, they would have no problem with consulting all of us on this issue because human lives are at stake. They are doing this because they want to divide the workforce and impose this without taking into account the input from all employees. We condemn them and we want to remind them that they are not a law unto themselves, and they certainly are not the mouthpiece of government or the minister on this issue.
It is for this reason that we are distancing ourselves from this agreement and we urge our members to ignore this directive from Harmony Gold Management. Instead, we urge our members to wait for the minister to announce when mining houses can officially resume production. Secondly we cannot agree to this because we do not know of any concrete steps which have been taken by management to ensure that workers are safe.
For example, The Cage which is used to transport hundreds of workers underground cannot accommodate social distancing. We also do not know of any special measures which have been put in place to ensure that the virus will not be spread. What steps have been taken to ensure that the workplace underground is in fact sanitized and coronavirus free? Will masks be provided and how often? We do not have answers to these questions and until we do we cannot simply allow our members to put their lives and those of their families and communities at risk, just so the bosses can make continue to enrich themselves. Whilst workers’ sweat underground risking their health to mine the gold, breathing in possibly contaminated air, the bosses will be working from the comfort and safety of their homes. This is why we are urging our members to adhere to the lock down regulations until such time that they are officially advised otherwise.
We made it very clear in the communication which we sent to management that the agreement between NUM and Harmony Gold was concluded without the inclusion of all stake holders and is therefore null and void. We do not recognize it. Harmony Gold Mine is reminded of its obligations under the Labour Relations Act and that it does not have unfettered rights in terms of the Law.
Aluta continua!
The struggle continues!
Issued by Kabelo Ramokhathali, NUMSA Regional Secretary, 17 April 2020
