Gold Fields Says Union Gives Strike Notice At South Deep Mine In South Africa

(RTTNews) - Gold Fields Limited (GFI) said it received a notice on Wednesday by the National Union of Mineworkers or NUM of its intention to embark on a protected strike at its South Deep operation in South Africa to protest retrenchments at the mine.

Under South African labour law, the union is required to give 48 hours' notice of its intention to strike. The strike is set to commence on the afternoon of Friday, November 2.

Gold Fields noted that about 80 percent of the mine's workforce are members of the union and in the event the strike proceeds, it is expected to impact adversely on production during its duration.

However, the company added that safety of employees is paramount and, if deemed necessary, South Deep Mine would also consider cessation of production for a limited period of time.

As part of a wide-ranging restructuring announcement to stem South Deep's significant cash losses and consolidate current operations, Gold Fields said it commenced a Section 189 process with the mine's two registered trade unions, the NUM and UASA, on August 14, 2018.

Under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration or CCMA, mine management has engaged the branch leadership of the two unions since then about various matters related to the section 189 process.

The company said it held extensive consultations and explored various options to improve the sustainability of the mine and limit job losses. This included an offer of voluntary severance packages, which was taken up by 177 employees.

Despite these efforts, South Deep still has to reduce its workforce by approximately 1,100 staff members and retrenchment letters were sent to these employees on October 31, 2018. In addition, the mine will reduce the number of contractors by approximately 420 people.

"The 'no work, no pay' principle will apply for the strike. We respect the laws that allow for a peaceful, legal strike, but we are very concerned about the further impact that industrial action will have on the mine - and on our employees, with potentially more job losses," Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland said.