THOUSANDS of workers who have been on an illegal strike for more than a month now at the Impala Platinum (Implats) Mine in Rustenburg, North West, have until tomorrow to return to work.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) yesterday called on its members to heed the call after it met Implats management on Friday. The parties agreed that the miners fired earlier this month should be rehired under their previous conditions of employment.
The parties, however, also agreed that those reporting for duty after tomorrow would be employed under new conditions.
NUM general secretary Frans Baleni told a media briefing in Johannesburg that Implats had eventually agreed to rehire the fired workers under the conditions of their previous employment.
"Workers will now be reinstated with their original terms and conditions of service and benefits.
"NUM will engage the company on the bonus issue as well as a review of wages. NUM will further engage the company on the issue of reinstating all workers, not 15000 as the company argues," Baleni said.
NUM and Implats had been at loggerheads over the rehiring of dismissed workers. The trade union had been insisting that the workers should be reinstated on their old contract conditions so they did not lose out on benefits. Implats was insisting on rehiring the workers on new contracts.
The rift between NUM and Implats started four weeks ago when the company raised the salaries of rock drill operators by 18%.
This angered miners, who got nothing. About 5000 of them embarked on an illegal strike on January 20, demanding similar increases. Implats fired 17200 workers for participating in an unprotected strike.
NUM has been holding talks with the company, in which it was trying to get the workers back to work, but the fired workers refused.
Violence, which so far has claimed the lives of three workers, erupted.
At a press briefing yesterday, which followed the trade union's national executive committee meeting last week, Baleni said he was positive that by the end of business tomorrow, all the workers would have been rehired.
NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the union had received information that the rehiring process was going well yesterday morning.
NUM also said that it was mobilising its members for Cosatu's national strike on March 7.
Cosatu will be striking against the introduction of tolling of roads in Gauteng and for the banning of labour brokers.
Workers must be back by tomorrow
THOUSANDS of workers who have been on an illegal strike for more than a month now at the Impala Platinum (Implats) Mine in Rustenburg, North West, have until tomorrow to return to work.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) yesterday called on its members to heed the call after it met Implats management on Friday. The parties agreed that the miners fired earlier this month should be rehired under their previous conditions of employment.
The parties, however, also agreed that those reporting for duty after tomorrow would be employed under new conditions.
NUM general secretary Frans Baleni told a media briefing in Johannesburg that Implats had eventually agreed to rehire the fired workers under the conditions of their previous employment.
"Workers will now be reinstated with their original terms and conditions of service and benefits.
"NUM will engage the company on the bonus issue as well as a review of wages. NUM will further engage the company on the issue of reinstating all workers, not 15000 as the company argues," Baleni said.
NUM and Implats had been at loggerheads over the rehiring of dismissed workers. The trade union had been insisting that the workers should be reinstated on their old contract conditions so they did not lose out on benefits. Implats was insisting on rehiring the workers on new contracts.
The rift between NUM and Implats started four weeks ago when the company raised the salaries of rock drill operators by 18%.
This angered miners, who got nothing. About 5000 of them embarked on an illegal strike on January 20, demanding similar increases. Implats fired 17200 workers for participating in an unprotected strike.
NUM has been holding talks with the company, in which it was trying to get the workers back to work, but the fired workers refused.
Violence, which so far has claimed the lives of three workers, erupted.
At a press briefing yesterday, which followed the trade union's national executive committee meeting last week, Baleni said he was positive that by the end of business tomorrow, all the workers would have been rehired.
NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the union had received information that the rehiring process was going well yesterday morning.
NUM also said that it was mobilising its members for Cosatu's national strike on March 7.
Cosatu will be striking against the introduction of tolling of roads in Gauteng and for the banning of labour brokers.
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