BMWU to petition Mokaila over Moolmans retrenchments

Pini Bothoko | Friday July 25, 2014 14:33

Moolmans Avens, which does excavations for Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC) here, retrenched 61 of its employees last week whilst negotiations with the BMWU were continuing.

Moolmans Avens argued that the pit where excavations were taking place was getting narrower as it went further and further down, resulting in only a few workers going underground while the rest were left idling at the surface.

The company argued that the pit was now getting risky for employees, as it was no longer able to accommodate all with the machinery.

The BMWU national organising coordinator Abel Buka told Mmegi that they are worried by Moolmans Avens Mine’s decision to retrench workers whilst negotiations were still ongoing.

He said that they were still talking to the company to address issues of job losses, like coming up with better packages.

He said that they where supposed to meet with the mine on August 7 for further talks at the labour office, but were shocked to hear that employees had been served with letters of retrenchments. That same Thursday (August 7), employees were supposed to stage a peaceful demonstration concerning that issue. Buka said that they are worried that mines have a habit of retrenching employees as they please and the law does not protect employees.

“Cases of retrenchments are high in our local mines and people’s jobs are not secure anymore.

“Jobs are not supposed to make people poor like what is currently happening. It concerns us the most that even the labour laws do not protect employees,” he said.

He said that they had suggested that employees should be paid two months salary of every year they have worked or a lump sum of P80,000 but management decided to ignore the request put before them by BMWU.

“This is the reason why we have decided to petition the minister because we cannot just let employees go home empty-handed.

“We pleaded with them to provide them with transport so that they can transport their properties back home, but they still ignored us,” said Buka.

He said that they do not want a situation where some employees will end up being forced to sell their properties after failing to transport them to their respective homes.

“The government is talking of eradicating poverty. How can they succeed whilst those who are working lose jobs daily?

“The government should consider amending Section 25 of the labour laws that talks about retrenchments because it does not protect employees,” he said. Buka noted that the majority of companies have been retrenching and as such there were possibilities that employees will struggle to find employment.

The doomed miners had sought to hold a peaceful demonstration last Thursday to take their plight into the public domain, but were refused permission by the police.

Buka said the police said they were busy starting their mass operation for the President Day Holidays, as such almost all of their resources will be diverted to that activity.

In a letter declining the permission, the police also said they were informed that the Labour Office was handling the dispute between BMWU and Moolmans and that the matter will be heard on August 7.