JOHANNESBURG: Swiss-based Glencore Xstrata has dismissed 1,000 workers who staged wildcat strikers at its South African chrome operations last week, the firm said yesterday, amid continuing tensions between rival unions in the key mining sector.
“These thousand people have been dismissed Friday and over the weekend. They have until tomorrow, Tuesday, to appeal their dismissal,” spokesman Christopher Tsatsawane said.
Workers downed tools last Tuesday on the Helena, Magareng and Thorncliffe sites in the northern province of Limpopo.
A member of the upstart Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) accused a shift supervisor of assault, which provoked the strike. AMCU and the powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) are locked in a struggle for members and power over South Africa’s mines.
NUM, which is allied with the ruling African National Congress, has been bleeding members who accuse it of being too close to mine companies.
AFP
