Union meets BCL over planned job cuts

MBONGENI MGUNI
Staff Writer | Tuesday April 27, 2010 00:00

 The meeting will be the first between the two parties since BCL Mine announced its plans to shed 93 jobs late last month. The copper and nickel mine said its decision was influenced by the need to buoy up operational profitability. BCL said an assessment of the mine's operating costs and projected base metal prices for 2010 had forced the staff rationalisation move.

The union's delegation to today's meeting will include BMWU's Selebi-Phikwe branch and a BMWU National Executive Committee member while a three-person team will represent BCL. BMWU president Rex Tambula told Mmegi last Friday that BMWU's action plan going into the meeting would be to reduce job losses as much as possible. He said previously, the union had successfully negotiated the numbers of people BCL intended to axe downwards. Last year, the mine intended to retrench 348 people but ultimately parted ways with only 60 as the rest were either redeployed or reserved for critical skills while others opted for voluntary retirement.

'We cannot detail our agenda going into the meeting as we could pre-empt its outcome,' Tambula said. 'However, generally we are hoping to reduce job losses as far as possible through advancing options such as redeployment. But if there are no options, we will negotiate the benefits which should go to those affected by the exercise. We will need to revisit the Memorandum of Agreement and also ensure that whatever is agreed to is complied with.' The union also intends to seek clarity on BCL's proposed job cuts. In its March announcement, BCL referred to cutting 93 jobs and not 93 workers, leaving the labour movement unsure of workers' standing. 'We are not sure what they mean when they say they want to cut these jobs. This is what we want to find out about in the meeting.'

A management brief announcing the exercise had referred to the shedding of 93 jobs through 'multi-tasking, redeployments and retrenchments'.

The mine has said retrenchees will be given business training as well as counselling upon losing their jobs. With 60 retrenchees last year, BCL was among mining companies that axed workers to stay afloat during the recession. A total of 3 ,471 workers lost their jobs in mining last year, leaving 15,359 still employed by the end of the year.