[miningmx.com] — NORTHAM Platinum has sent a written appeal to the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) to engage in discussions regarding the deployment of key employees during days of mourning.
This follows a declaration of a dispute by the Num relating to disciplinary action taken by the management of Northam’s Zondereinde division against some key smelter employees who “wilfully ignored a reasonable and lawful instruction to be present at work, and who instead walked off the job to mark past days of mourning”, the company said on Thursday.
Northam said that the disciplinary action followed repeated unsuccessful attempts by management to engage with the Num on the substantial risk of irreversible damage being caused to the smelter by key smelter employees leaving their posts and the consequences of such damage for the future of the mine and all of its employees.
General manager Danny Gonsalves said that, while the company had full empathy with employees wishing to mourn the death of colleagues, it believed that every employee also had the right “not to have his/her job, his/her wellbeing and that of his/her family put at risk by irresponsible actions”.
“Management remains available to engage with the Num in a spirit of empathy and pragmatism, using the existing channels, to find an outcome in the interests of all stakeholders,” Gonsalves said.
