NUM to embark on a protest march tomorrow morning at Ivanplats Mokopane in Limpopo

Press Statement, 26 August 2020

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will be marching tomorrow in Mokopane to hand over a memorandum of demands to IvanPlats management for unfairly retrenching workers in their operation citing COVID-19 as the main reason for the Section 189. The march will start at 09:00 am from Magongoa sports ground in Mokopane via N11 and proceed to the mine main gate.

Ivanplats Mine served the NUM with notice of retrenchment on 27 May 2020 to retrench 72 workers out of a total workforce of144. Workers at Ivanplats mine outside Mokopane will be embarking on protest on 27 August 2020 after the employer served workers with termination letters on the 5th August 2020.

The NUM went through CCMA facilitation process and both parties could not agree and 60 days lapsed as per section 189A. The company says it is retrenching because of COVID-19. Unfortunately, this has also impacted on the contractor Aveng Moolman which also had to retrench 278 employees out of the total workforce of 339.

"NUM submitted a lot of proposals to avoid job losses including a commitment that workers agreed not to get salary increments and bonuses as long as there is COVID-19 to save jobs. The employer indicated that they informed DMR in terms of Section 52 but when we approached DMR they indicated they were not informed. The company confirmed during the meeting that the company didn't apply for COVID-19 government relief fund whereas they claim to be affected by COVID-19," said Phillip Mankge, NUM North East Regional Secretary.

This mine has not yet gone into production but they are under care maintenance. This has resulted in total job losses of 313 including those of Aveng as a contractor.

Phillip Mankge, NUM North East Regional Secretary, 076 053 3401

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