Business Report writes that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Friday that it had received a section 189 notice (i.e. possible retrenchment notice) from Pan African Resources (PAR), which intends to lay off about 2,000 workers at its Evander Gold Mine.
The mine’s shafts 8 and 7 were closed earlier this month after an accident left one worker dead. The planned retrenchments are apparently due to ageing infrastructure, high operating costs and a low gold price. NUM national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said the union was “totally opposed” to the retrenchments. He added that since 2012 more than 30,000 jobs had been lost in the platinum sectors, and more than 10,000 in the gold sector. AngloGold Ashanti earlier this year said it had plans to shed more than 800 jobs across the country due to operational requirements.
- Read this report by Kabelo Khumalo in full at Business Report
- Read the NUM’s press report in this regard at NUM online
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page