[miningmx.com] – LONMIN confirmed the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) had taken its rivalry with the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) to the courts and said it had filed answering affidavits.
“A court application has been brought by the NUM, one of the unions representing Lonmin employees, and has been set down for 10 July 2013,” said Lonmin in a statement to the JSE.
“Whilst Lonmin cannot comment in detail, the case relates to membership numbers for both NUM and the AMCU,” it added.
“In preparation for this case Lonmin filed documents to the court, elements of which became public in South Africa yesterday (July 7, 2013). Clearly this case is sub judice, consequently arguments may not be made publicly prior to being put before the court,” it said.
The development comes ahead of a pre-bargaining workshop today involving unions and the Chamber of Mines of South Africa. The workshop is intended to help smooth wage negotiations that officially kick-off on July 11.
City Press reported on Sunday (July 7) that the NUM had filed to interdict its loss of recognition as well as the closure of its office which the paper said was scheduled to take effect on July 16.
The NUM asked the court to declare invalid the stop orders of NUM members who joined the AMCU in May, said City Press. The NUM wanted 10,000 workers to be restored to its ranks and said 12,097 stop orders were invalid following examination by a firm of forensic accountants and a hand-writing expert.
The newspaper added that Lonmin had requested a secret ballot at its Marikana mine in order to test the true status of respective union membership.
Lonmin said it couldn’t comment further on the development but said its “wider position” was that union status ought to be resolved peacefully. “Lonmin further believes that all employees have the right to be represented by the union of their
choice,” it said.
AMCU is currently studying a framework agreement on union, business and government obligations in respect of on-mine behaviour, a document that was brokered by Kgalema Motlanthe, South Africa’s deputy president.
The document was signed by the government, the Chamber of Mines and unions except for AMCU which required more time to brief members and win a mandate from them on how to address the document.
