NUM vows to fight De Beers’ "Devastating" plan to cut 1,214 jobs at Venetia Mine and DBSSSA

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) strongly condemns the decision by De Beers and De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa (DBSSSA) to pause production at Venetia Mine for two years and issue a Section 189A notice, threatening the livelihoods of 1,134 permanent employees at Venetia Mine and a further 80 employees at DBSSSA.

The NUM views this announcement as a devastating blow to workers, their families, and the communities that depend on Venetia Mine and DBSSSA for survival. In total, 1,214 workers now face retrenchment.

The union is deeply disturbed by how management has communicated this decision, attempting to portray it as a sudden and unavoidable crisis when the company has long been aware of the challenges facing the diamond industry.

NUM National Health and Safety Secretary and NUM Diamond Sector Chief Negotiator, Masibulele Naki, stated:

"Workers cannot be treated as disposable tools that are discarded whenever companies face economic pressures. De Beers has known about the challenges confronting the diamond market for a long time. It is therefore disingenuous to present this announcement as a sudden crisis. Workers and their trade union should have been engaged honestly and transparently long before a Section 189A notice was issued."

The NUM maintains that the company has a responsibility to exhaust all possible alternatives before contemplating retrenchments.

Naki added:

"The salaries of workers are not the cause of the current difficulties facing the company. Therefore, workers' wages, jobs, and livelihoods cannot become the first target whenever management seeks to reduce costs. Workers cannot compromise on salary cuts, nor can they be expected to carry the burden of protecting profits while executives continue to enjoy substantial benefits."

The union firmly rejects any attempt to make retrenchments a predetermined outcome of the consultation process. We remind the employer that Section 189A consultations are legally intended to seek alternatives to job losses, not merely to rubber-stamp decisions already taken.

The NUM demands that De Beers and DBSSSA urgently consider viable alternatives, including:
• Retraining and upskilling programmes
• Temporary job preservation measures
• A reduction in non-essential expenditure
• A comprehensive review of executive and management costs

"Retrenchments cannot become an easy escape route whenever companies face operational challenges. The company must find other means of reducing costs instead of targeting workers. Every alternative that can save jobs must be explored before a single worker is retrenched. The potential loss of 1,214 jobs across Venetia Mine and DBSSSA will have devastating consequences for workers, their families, and local communities," Naki emphasized.

The NUM calls on the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR), the Department of Employment and Labor, organized labor, and all key stakeholders to intervene urgently to protect these 1,214 jobs.

The union will participate fully in the consultation process and will mobilize all available organizational, legal, and collective bargaining resources to defend our members.

"The livelihoods of more than 1,200 workers and thousands of dependents are at stake. NUM will not stand by while workers are sacrificed for corporate convenience. The NUM will not be shocked and surprised if this is a strategy by the company to replace permanent workers with contractors which is a strategy that is being used by mining companies around the world where they operate. We shall fight relentlessly to protect jobs and defend the dignity of mineworkers," concluded Naki.

For interviews and further information, please contact:

Masibulele Naki, NUM National Health and Safety Secretary and NUM Diamonds Sector Chief Negotiator, 073 333 7745 / 064 502 1769

The National Union of Mineworkers
7 Rissik Street.
Cnr Frederick Johannesburg
Tel: 011 377 2111 Cell: 083 809 3257
Twitter: @Num_Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NUM/10086002340