SOUTH Africa’s miners were among the world’s hardest workers, according to an article by BusinessLive citing a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) which sampled hours worked across 50 countries.
South Africa was the fifth hardest working country with workers spending an average of 43.3 hours a week on the job, the report said. “Looking only at jobs in the formal sectors‚ the OECD found the mining industry to be in the lead with workers putting in an average of 45.3 hours a week,” said BusinessLive.
This is despite difficult working conditions.
Desire Mokoena‚ a mine production planner from Mpumalanga, told TimesLive, a sister publication of BusinessLive, that mineworkers‚ particularly those in production‚ worked 12 hour shifts‚ mostly six days a week. “Underground‚ a lot of things need manpower. You pull cables‚ get onto a high machine, and remember‚ the ground is not level,” she said.
“They say it’s uncomfortable for women. Other women end up having back problems because of such things‚” said Mokoena.
