Num stayaway at Uranium

Thu, 09 Oct 2008

Workers at the Uranium One mine near Klerksdorp will only go back to work when the mine sort out its security problems, the National Union of Mineworkers said on Wednesday.

National Num spokesman Lesiba Seshoka was reacting to a second day of a stayaway at the mine on Wednesday after Num members refused to go to work.

Seshoka said mine management must sort out its problems with eleven miners, who were fired recently, and had since called themselves the Crisis Committee.

"They allegedly organised an illegal strike and protest and were fired by management. Now they are fighting their own small battle with the mine."

On Tuesday this group allegedly arrived at work armed and threatened workers, preventing them from going to work.

"Workers refused to go to work because these people were preventing them from going to work. Based on that, workers do not want to be involved in violence fighting each other."

Mine management apparently spoke about firing the Num members who were staying away.

"We as the Num made it clear that was not going to happen," said Seshoka.