NUM Press Statement, 29 May 2017 NUM to fight Kimberley Ekapa Mining Joint Venture (KEM JV) on issues of racism, transformation and victimization of the NUM branch leadership
NUM Press Statement, 29 May 2017
NUM to fight Kimberley Ekapa Mining Joint Venture (KEM JV) on issues of racism, transformation and victimization of the NUM branch leadership.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at Kimberley Ekapa Mining Joint Venture (KEM JV) is very concerned and disturbed by the manner in which the mine management is treating the workers and the victimization of the NUM leadership at the mine.
Petra Diamonds entered into a joint venture with Kimberley, South Africa-based diamond mining company Ekapa Mining in July 2016, combining the operations into unincorporated JV dubbed the Kimberley Ekapa Mining Joint Venture (KEM JV).
On several occasions, the union tried to engage the management and has even invited their executive to try and deal with the attitudes of their senior management at the operations in the Northern Cape.
The recent spectre of issues that have angered our members are as follows:-
· One of the contractors has called one of our members a baboon, and the company was reluctant to act until we forced them to suspend that intransigence manager of a contractor.
· One of our Shop Stewards was suspended for talking his mother language.
· Another burning issue is the ill-treatment of the NUM branch leadership especially the branch chairperson and secretary. There is an ulterior–motive towards the two and management to victimize the comrades.
· The company failed to implement its own recruitment policies, which is a cause for concern and the company is busy recruiting people who don’t have qualifications.
· The other issue is transformation, the company has black managers at ER and HR but their just window dressers.
· The issue of racism is rife within the company.
The NUM vows to fight tooth and nail to bring the perpetrators to book and end this abhorrent behaviour. This company claims that they care about employees but on the contrary, all that they care about is production.
For more information, please contact:
Cornelius Manhe: NUM Kimberley Regional Secretary:
079 871 5514Orapeleng Moraladi: NUM Kimberley Regional Organiser: 078 452 6891
