NUM accuses Harmony of corruption

Ines Schumacher | Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:30
[miningmx.com] -- THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is accusing Harmony's Free State management of corruption after the deaths of 61 illegal miners in the company's Elands shaft.

NUM is demanding the closure of Harmony's affected operations and wants government to take disciplinary action against the company.

"The illegal miners must have been in collusion with managers to get into the shafts. NUM demands an investigation and for the company to receive a large fine," NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka told Miningmx.

Harmony spokesperson Marian van der Walt vigorously denies this accusation. "Criminal miners are involved in bribery of employees, but we address this through an ethical programme which gives incentives to report this behaviour," she said.

Van der Walt said there is no planned corruption within Harmony's management. NUM questioned why - despite the fingerprint security system Harmony has in place - illegal miners were still able to enter the shafts.

"The company knew about the problem of illegal mining since 1999. If they were aware of it, why did they not put proper security in place?" Seshoka said.

NUM is demanding that Harmony take full responsibility for the deaths of the illegal miners. "While the NUM does not in any way support and condone illegal mineworkers, the union believes that these poor workers may have been lured by experienced managers to go and ply their trade at the mine," NUM said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, Van der Walt said Harmony should not be the only entity to take responsibility for the tragedy. "While it is tragic that so many people lost their lives, it is not a fair comment for NUM to make. NUM always blames management for everything," she said.

On Monday, Harmony reported the recovery of the bodies of 36 illegal miners. They died as a result of an underground fire in an abandoned section of its Eland shaft.

On Tuesday, Harmony reported another 25 bodies had been recovered.

Harmony said in a statement that it did not see any signs of a fire and only when fellow illegal miners brought the bodies to the surface were they informed of it.

"At the heart of the problem lies lax security and unwillingness on the part of the company to invest in proper security systems," NUM said.

Harmony defence

Van der Walt told Miningmx that the reaction from NUM was disappointing after a constructive meeting had been held on Tuesday with various stakeholders, including the unions.

She said all parties had agreed to work together to avoid these incidents in future. "These miners forcefully enter our shafts. They break open areas we've closed off," Van der Walt said.

Harmony has a fingerprint scanning safety procedure which does not allow non-employees into the shafts. The company also conducts security searches underground every day.

"NUM must have forgotten that our first responsibility is towards our employees and their members. The illegal miners do not follow proper safety procedures and thereby endanger the lives of our employees," she said.

Trade union Solidarity has asked the mines minister to appoint a task team to investigate the worsening situation of illegal mining in South Africa. This follows after nearly 90 illegal miners already died in South African mines in 2009.

An underground fire also caused the deaths of 20 illegal miners at Pan African's Consort mine in March.

Illegal mining has been an issue in the South African mining industry for some time, and the high gold price has led to an increase in the activity.