[miningmx.com] — About 9,000 workers at Lonmin’s Marikana operations in Rustenburg were to be served letters of dismissal, according to Lonmin CEO Ian Farmer.
Farmer was responding to a statement made by National Union of Mineworkers spokesperson Leshiba Seshoga on Tuesday, which read Lonmin would dismiss all workers on the basis they had disrupted operations since last week.
“I can confirm that,’ Farmer told Miningmx.
This followed disruptions at the platinum mine during last week’s elections over an issue which, said Seshoka, had nothing to do with the employer.
“We sent a team to talk to them to defuse the situation. They continued even though we spoke to them,” said Seshoka.
He said workers were caught up in a union branch leadership dispute which had nothing to do with the employer.
“Unfortunately, the company cannot have such people and has to let them go.”
The union would make interventions to help people reapply for their jobs where required, but would not support those who “are on the wrong side of the law”.
It had a similar situation at engineering and construction company Murray & Roberts about two years ago when about 2 000 people were fired.
