By Ebi Kesiena
A group of miners from an unregistered rival union are holding hundreds of their colleagues’ underground for a second day at a gold mine in South Africa over a union dispute, police and mine officials said Tuesday.
According to reports, some 15 miners have been injured in scuffles, the head of the mine said.
Details were sketchy and there were conflicting statements over what happened, with the unregistered union asserting it represents the majority of employees at the mine and it wants to be formally recognized. It said the workers underground were staging a protest and there was no hostage situation.
Jonathan Hericourt, the mine’s CEO, said in a statement they are concerned about the ongoing sit-in, which has resulted in over 500 employees being held hostage underground, as he described it, with at least nine sustaining injuries.
“We are actively engaging with relevant authorities. We address this situation with the utmost gravity and remain dedicated to resolving it in a manner that prioritizes the well-being and safety of all our employees,” he said.
Workers affiliated to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) have reportedly taken hostage workers allied with the National Union of Mine Workers (NUM), a rival union, according to Hericourt.
AMCU spokesman Jeff Mphahlele told local media that workers had staged a sit-in underground and denied their members were holding others hostage.
“AMCU is not holding people ransom underground. This is a night shift that did not come out this morning. They are holding a sit-in,” he said.
He added the 1,870 workers at the GoldOne mine had indicated they want to join AMCU but the gold producer said it only recognizes NUM. The National Union of Mine Workers has appealed to law enforcement agencies to intervene by going underground to arrest those holding their members “hostage.”
