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The NUM Kimberley Region is concerned and worried by the inhumane posture portrayed by Kimberley Ekapa Mining after the company failed to pay workers their full salaries and benefits.

"What agitates us more is that they have paid their employees an amount of R3 500.00 only, irrespective of the category and further cut off their salaries by 33%. This is heartless and inhuman. Our members are not slaves. NUM members are not robots and they will not compromise their terms and conditions of employment.

 They deserve to be paid their full salaries and benefits," said Cornelius Manhe, NUM Kimberley Regional Secretary. 

"As if it is not enough the very same company which claims to be the messiah of the Northern Cape economy forced the employees to sign a declaration which allows them to further cut the employees’ salaries by 25%. This behaviour does not start now, the very same company last year from August 2019 to October 2019 unilaterally cuts the salaries of the employees including benefits by the same percentage," Manhe added.

It is disingenuous of the company to now hide behind COVID-19, while the government has placed various benefits in place as relief grants, which they arrogantly do not wish to access. 

This arrogant company lied to the media suggesting that NUM failed to put options in place during the meeting is full of fallacy and perpetual lies. The NUM tried in vain to come up with progressive suggestion during the said meeting but their team led by a very intransigent General Manger Howard Marsden who is full of himself and undermines every NUM leader rejected them all. 

This company also failed to meaningfully engage the NUM with regards to the COVID-19 regulations. 

"They failed to put health and safety measures in place as per the regulations, what fuel our dissatisfaction more is their refusal to allow Full-Time Health and Safety representative to enter the mine, the only conclusion we can draw is because they know that they are not complying. We have informed the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to intervene and the regulatory department told us that they have advised the company to engage the organized labour," Manhe said.

As NUM we will spare no efforts to fight with everything to bring this company to its knees. We further called upon the relevant authorities to assist us by doing what they supposed to do. We are sick and tired of the inhuman behaviour of this company. Our members have not been paid but they expect them to resume work, without transport allowance.

As NUM we believe that is time for JAN HORNE and his team to leave the company give license to the workers and or return it to the regulatory department. The NUM will continue to fight until justice is done to our members.

Issued by NUM