A worker in protective gear is pictured at Sibanye-Stillwater mine in Kroondal.Labour unions at Sibanye Stillwater have lamented job losses from the company’s restructuring process as they continue to engage in a bid curb further job losses.
The National Union of Mineworkers is one of the labour unions that formed part of the consultative process to curb job losses. Unions managed to convince mine management to extend the life of some of the mining operations that were lined up to shut down. “Their admission that they are restructuring loss-making shafts vindicates our argument in the previous statement, where we said that Sibanye is retrenching workers solely in pursuit of profits. Capitalistically, their purpose and social responsibility are owed not to job preservation or employment creation but to raking in profits. This capitalistic logic has led Sibanye Stillwater and other firms to disrupt the livelihood of thousands of mineworkers through retrenchments callously.