Botswana jobs in SA mines under threat

"Gold Fields has indicated its intentions to retrench ten percent of it workforce. Our position on retrenchments is that we are opposed to the idea and would ensure that jobs are safe," Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), said yesterday.

Gold Fields was not readily responsive to claims made by the NUM yesterday. The company's spokesman, Marritt Claasens, had this to say: "We are not commenting on statements made by the NUM. The chief executive officer, Nick Holland, will address those issues on Thursday when he presents the company's quarterly results," she said yesterday.