2023-10-24 21:30:49
According to local media, the detention continued today, despite the prohibition order issued by a court, and dozens of workers were still concentrated late this afternoon outside the scene of the events, the mina from East Modderfontein, near the city of Johannesburg (north).
Meanwhile, inside the exploitation, conversations were taking place between representatives of the owner company, Gold One International, and the two unions involved: the Association of Miners and Construction Union (AMCU) and the National Union of Miners (NUM). .
Likewise, some South African media reported that the Police are monitoring the situation and could be looking for a way to access the place. “We must say that the workers are being held hostage underground against his will. We have members who are not participating in a (voluntary) sit-in,” said Mpho Phakedi, deputy general secretary of the NUM, the mine’s main union until now.
Is it or not a “voluntary confinement” of the miners?
The company also maintains this position, but the AMCU assures that it is a voluntary confinement in protest to ensure that this organization is recognized as the main representative of the workers.
In recent months, that request has led to several legal proceedings, Gold One spokesman John Hericourt said Monday. In fact, last week, AMCU went to court to request approval of a strike, but the outcome of the request is still pending. The general secretary of that union, Jeff Mphahlele, argued yesterday regarding the locked up workers that it is about the “night shift that did not work out at all.”
“The night shift that was supposed to leave this (Monday) morning decided to stay underground,” he added then. According to Mphahlele, the mine has a workforce of just over 1,800 people, and “1,700 members have indicated they want to join AMCU.”
jov (efe, SkyNews)
1698199768
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