MINING company Aurora has failed to honour an agreement made last week to pay workers, the National Union of Mineworkers said yesterday.

MINING company Aurora has failed to honour an agreement made last week to pay workers, the National Union of Mineworkers said yesterday.

The NUM said more than 2000 of its members at Grootvlei, Aurora's East Rand operations, refused to work since the company had failed to fully comply with the agreement.

"In terms of the agreement, the workers were to have been paid outstanding wages for February and would then return to work," NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said.

He said the company had paid some workers 75percent of their February wages, less 1,5percent.

"Others received nothing," Seshoka said.

Frasy Namanyana, the NUM branch chairperson at the mine, said there was no water.

"The kitchen is closed ... how can they expect us to go back to work?"

Aurora spokesperson Sheshile Ngubane said the company had acted in terms of the agreement.

"We are working on a skeleton staff and we've picked up that some people haven't been paid ... we are attending to those files now."

Ngubane said he was "on the way" to the NUM to explain the situation.

As to the water being cut he said when the miners went back to work and production resumed Aurora would be in a position to negotiate the supply of water.

He said the workers had been "doing nothing" for three weeks and it had cost the company "millions" to feed them.

The NUM called on the company to fulfil fully the terms of the agreement on their part.

"Unless all other people are paid their dues there will be no work," Namanyana said.

President Jacob Zuma's nephew, Khulubuse Zuma, is Aurora's chairperson and former president Nelson Mandela's grandson, Zondwa Mandela, is managing director.

Last month mineworkers downed tools at Grootvlei to protest nonpayment of wages and job loss threats. - Sapa