26 September 2024

The African National Congress, South African Communist Party, Congress of South African Trade Union and the National Union of Mineworkers in Mpumalanga met to discuss recent developments that are happening at Seriti Mine. The parties learnt with shock and dismay that the company is contemplating to retrench more than 1100 mine workers in favour of contract workers without any substantive and convincing reasons. This move comes at the time when the above-mentioned organizations are still fighting for the reopening of Komati mine where there were also more than 1000 workers who lost their jobs through unreasonable retrenchments. We view this as a direct attack on decent work against the workers while these companies continue to make profits at the expense of workers and poor neighbouring people.

We condemn this move on the basis that the country is facing perpetual rising costs of living and casualization of these workers will deepen the crisis even further. Replacing permanent workers with casual workers is not only a direct attack to workers, but also exposes the failure of management to deal with complex issues but resort to an easy way of retrenchments which will result in the increase of unemployment if not vulnerable workers that will be working on contractual basis without fringe benefits.

We call on the Provincial government, particularly the Office of the Premier, as well as the National government under the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to come to the space and provide necessarily Leadership to the disaster which innocent families might experience. The country is already facing a crisis of poverty, unemployment and inequality, yet we have companies like Seriti mine who feel no shame of deepening the crisis which will exacerbate the problem.

This is a declaration of a war to the working class that must always suffer consequences of management which will want to think through punishing workers for the crime that they did not commit. The people of Mpumalanga are invited to unite against Seriti mine and start a rolling mass action to embark on a Red week of a march against Seriti mine on the 3 rd of October, to be followed by a Red October launch on the 6 th of October and a march against job losses on the 7 th of October 2024, all the details will be provided in due course.

The ANC, SACP, COSATU and NUM invite all progressive forces to join the actions as we will be embarking on the mother of all strikes against this move by Seriti Mine. The programmes will be reviewed from time to time depending on the attitude from the mine and other stakeholders involved, we shall embark on this struggle until demands for the workers are met. We also call upon all workers across various sectors to unite against concomitant plans by capital to divide and weaken organized labour through a neo-liberal agenda.

Enough is enough, the battle lines are drawn, the people of Mpumalanga are tired of mines that always think through the maximization of profits particularly retrenchments and ignore all available amicable solutions.

ISSUED BY ANC, SACP AND COSATU IN MPUMALANGA PROVINCE

For further enquiries contact:

Muzi Chirwa
ANC Provincial Secretary
071 077 7119
Or
Lucky Mbuyane
SACP Provincial Secretary
082 351 5804
Or
Thabo Mokoena
COSATU Provincial Secretary
073 750 2041

Issued by the South African Communist Party,
Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa.
 
Media, Communications & Information Department | MCID
 
Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, Central Committee Member
National Spokesperson & Political Bureau Secretary for Policy and Research

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