Labour union the Nationwide Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has strongly decried the plans introduced by multinational diamond firm De Beers and De Beers Sightholder Gross sales South Africa (DBSSSA) to pause manufacturing on the Venetia mine, in Limpopo, for 2 years and to challenge a Part 189A discover to staff.
The NUM says this determination threatens the livelihoods of 1 134 everlasting staff on the Ventia mine and an extra 80 staff at DBSSSA.
The union says it’s deeply disturbed by how the administration at De Beers communicated this determination, including that the corporate tried to painting it as a sudden and unavoidable disaster when, NUM argues, the corporate had lengthy been conscious of the challenges going through the diamond trade.
“Employees can’t be handled as disposable instruments which might be discarded at any time when firms face financial pressures. De Beers has recognized in regards to the challenges confronting the diamond market for a very long time.
“It’s due to this fact disingenuous to current this announcement as a sudden disaster. Employees and their commerce union ought to have been engaged truthfully and transparently lengthy earlier than a Part 189A discover was issued,” says NUM nationwide well being and security secretary and diamond sector chief negotiator Masibulele Naki.
He added that employees shouldn’t be the primary to face wage cuts or layoffs, particularly on condition that employees salaries should not the rationale for the corporate’s monetary struggles.
The NUM has demanded that De Beers and DBSSSA urgently take into account viable alternate options comparable to retraining and skilling programmes, non permanent job preservation measures, a discount in non-essential expenditure and a complete overview of govt and administration prices.
The NUM additionally calls on South Africa’s departments of Mineral and Petroleum Assets and Employment and Labour, organised labour and all key stakeholders to intervene urgently to guard jobs at Venetia and DBSSSA.
