Mine bans food and water

2010-01-15 13:13

Johannesburg - Miners are threatening to strike or take legal action if they are not allowed to take food underground at First Uranium's operations, trade union Uasa said on Friday.

"The ruling that workers are prohibited to take food and water underground in order to prevent illegal miners underground from having access to food and water is inhumane," said Uasa spokesperson Franz Stehring in a statement.

The ban was put in place to stop "illegal" miners from buying food to enable them to stay underground for months.

Stehring said the ban was a violation of the Constitution which states everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water.

"Since March last year workers who take food or liquids underground faced disciplinary action from management."

"Management wants to prohibit the handing over of food to illegal miners who live underground."

Long hours without water

This meant that union members were forced to work long hours underground without eating or drinking.

"A lack of regular eating habits can cause all sorts of digestive problems, even diabetes amongst certain persons, and leads to our members and other employees becoming medically unfit."

Employees on chronic medication had to take their medication on an empty stomach "due to management’s draconian approach to the situation", he said.

A group of Uasa members at Randfontein Estates Mine Cook 2 Shaft had refused to come to the surface on January 12 to force management to rectify the situation.

"The members surfaced on January 13 after management requested a full-time union representative to go underground and persuade the protesters to come to the surface, explaining that the issue needs to be dealt with in the form of a group grievance."

Disciplinary action

Stehring said management was in the process of taking disciplinary action against the protesters.

"Uasa has protested the issue countless times over the past year."

"Management promised that the practice would end as soon as access control equipment was put in place to electronically read workers' fingerprints."

"It is now almost 11 months later and nothing has been done."

Stehring demanded that First Uranium's management follow the example of Harmony Gold by introducing a system which allowed the quantity of food per worker to be regulated.

"Uasa further demands that a task team be established to regularly review the system, and that other measures are taken to address the issue of illegal miners."

If management did not act, Uasa threatened to take legal action.

"The growing unrest among the affected workers could also lead to strike action causing a dramatic loss of income to the mine," he added.

First Uranium could not be immediately reached for comment.

- SAPA