Operations have been halted at the Sibanye-Stillwater Kwezi Shaft 5 in Rustenburg in the North West, following an underground sit-in by more than 200 mineworkers that began on Monday morning.
Thirteen of the workers resurfaced from underground on Monday morning.
The workers are unhappy about the non-payment of the dividend of the Employers Share Ownership Scheme (ESOP) and are demanding that the employer pay the dividends before they abandon the labour strike.
Sibanye has already issued an intention to dismiss the protesting workers.
A team comprising representatives from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union and Sibanye, went underground last night to persuade the workers to resurface, but their calls were not heeded by the workers.
According to the National Union of Mineworkers, NUM, which represent some of the miners, they refused to resurface after their shift ended on Monday morning and embarked on a sit-in and were still underground at the time this article was published.
NUM Regional Chairperson, Geoffrey Moatshe, said they were informed by their branch leaders that there was prior planning for the sit-in.
“When we got the report, this intention was supposed to be done on Friday.
But they were persuaded otherwise by the branch leadership of the union to abort the strike.
Probably over the weekend they mobilized themselves somewhere and decided that they will proceed with the strike on Monday,” said Moatshe.
He added that the union was not aware of the change of plan and didn’t endorse the strike.
Moatshe highlighted that it is unfair that the workers at the Kwezi shaft operations are the only ones who haven’t received their dividends.
“Other operations of Sibanye, your Rustenburg and Marikana, apparently, they got their dividend payouts of shares.
It was an expectation of workers at Kwezi that they would also get their shares,” explained Moatshe.
The Regional Chairperson expressed concern about the well-being of the workers.
“Underground is not a conducive place to stay there for an extended period, hence the issue of health and safety comes into question.
You have people with chronic conditions, you have women who might be on their monthly cycle, who need to change their sanitary pads and might not have them with them.
As a union we’re duty bound to go and negotiate with the workers to come underground along health and safety concerns,” pleaded Moatshe.
Newsnote attempts to solicit a comment from Sibanye were unsuccessful.
