[miningmx.com] – SOME 1,200 employees at one of Sibanye Gold’s Driefontein shafts, west of Johannesburg, have agreed to return to surface after embarking on an illegal sit-in on September 1, the company said.
The sit-in, at the Masakhane shaft, followed an investigation into the death of an employee underground, which appeared to be of natural causes, but which requires the state pathologist’s report owing to the legal consequences of the outcome.
The company offered benefits to the employees relatives and the right for members of the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) to hold a meeting today, but employees called the illegal strike in any event, Sibanye said.
“It is disappointing that our employees elected to embark on unprocedural and illegal protest, despite management’s willingness to engage on the issue and after indications that we would consider revising long standing policies which had previously been agreed with the unions,” said Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye Gold.
“This kind of illegal activity by a minority of members, poses a health and safety risk to employees who are being forced to remain underground and we urge union leadership to engage with their members in order to prevent these sort of disruptions which potentially compromise the future of the business and jobs in future,’ he added.
