Workers belonging to a gold mine in Mpumalanga’s Barberton area where three workers are still trapped underground are still not paid, the Deputy President of the National Union of Mineworkers said on Monday.
Joseph Montisetsi said issues regarding payments, however, remained with a majority union, which is the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).
“But even if we are not a majority union [in Lily Mine] we can’t fold our arms and say ‘no, they are Amcu members, we don’t care’. No, we can’t. We are going to fight for the rights of all workers in South Africa,” Montisetsi told 013NEWS on Monday.
“We will therefore march to the department of mineral resources by the end of this week or early next week over the situation at Lily Mine”, he stated.
“Among the issues we will demand that the mine rescues the workers so that their families can find closure,” Montisetsi said.
Amcu spokesman Manzini Zungu did notreturn 013NEWS’ calls.
It has been over 6 months since the Lily Mine was shut down after a shaft collapsed on February 5, leaving three employees trapped in a container underground.
(edited by ZK)
