BMWU rejects TNMC leave offer

Staff Writer | Wednesday February 17, 2016 16:09

 

TNMC last week called an emergency consultative meeting with its Phoenix Mine BMWU branch and proposed that workers should apply for five days leave and the mine would offer them another five days so that they could take a two-week leave.

BMWU general secretary, Mbiganyi Ramokate confirmed last week’s BMWU/TNMC management consultative meeting which the former rejected outright despite the fact that the employer’s motive was to cushion its biting effect of cash flow. The situation at the beleaguered copper/nickel mining outfit situated about 44 kilometres east of Francistown is compounded by the fluctuating global metal prices and its low-grade copper.

“The employer told our members that if about 850 of them could go on leave for 10 working days, it would reduce the costs because currently there has not been any production at the Tati mine,” said Ramokate.

The problem is not helped by the fact that the company that has been mining at Tati, Moolman Mining recently left the site after its contract was not renewed last December 31, 2015 leaving about 500 workers jobless.

“The union has rejected the employer’s offer on the basis that the employer has failed to demonstrate the financial trouble TNMC is in, so that we can appreciate and the workers in turn should appreciate too,” said Ramokate. He was steadfast that in the absence of “empirical evidence”, there was no way in which they could simply agree that there was a cash flow problem at the TNMC.

Ramokate said now that TNMC was due to start selling its copper/nickel matte abroad, its financial situation would have to improve so that it can sustain its operations.

He said TNMC relies upon its parent BCL mine and believes that once the BCL mine has issues affecting it, these would definitely affect all its subsidiaries.

“Last year, the BMWU national executive committee petitioned the BCL board chairman Dr Akolang Tombale to purge the current executive committee to turn things around,” he said.

Ramokate further indicated that they were in the process of approaching the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Mokaila to appreciate what is going on in BCL and Tati Nickel, mines owned 100 percent by the Botswana government.

Quizzed about last week’s impromptu meeting held at the TNMC, the mine’s public relations manager Tebogo Rapitsenyane said: “Our union as a strategic partner is continuously engaged with management on different issues affecting the company, both negative and positive.”

“However, we are constrained to discuss every issue tabled with third parties,” stated Rapitsenyane.