Friday 16 April 2021 - 8:45am
Who killed Blyvoor gold mine’s director Wels Sempe, and will the assassination derail the mine’s recovery? eNCA s Govan Whittles finds out. Courtesy #DStv403
JOHANNESBURG - Who killed Blyvoor gold mine’s director Wels Sempe and will the assassination derail the mine’s recovery?
These are the questions being asked by mine management and workers alike, who are currently facing off over union representation and jobs.
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NUM’s tart response is, “Nonsense!”
“Our workers are at their own homes today. They have not blocked the mine. They are waiting for the company to call them to work. Our members are not blocking the road… it might be other people,” Zimisele Ponti, NUM’s Carletonville regional chairperson, told
Business Maverick.
However, the company did score a goal of its own, winning a high court injunction against NUM, restraining it from “blocking or in any way preventing access to the Blyvoor Gold Mine and/or Doornfontein Village”.
NUM is also, among other restrictions, restricted from disrupting the mine’s business, intimidating and threatening or assaulting the employees. The court order also directs the station commander of the Carletonville police to “give effect to the restraints” and to “disperse, remove, eject or arrest any person who acts in an unlawful manner”.
Blyvoor executives who spoke to
Business Maverick said they are convinced his murder was linked to Blyvoor Workers’ Union (BWU) resistance to attempts by the local National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to dislodge it.
In the past week, according to Blyvoor executives, the mine sent its first gold bars to the Rand Refinery, signalling its rebirth. But it has been temporarily closed, members of its management team say, by workers associated with NUM who blockaded the entrance. The disruption has been going on for two weeks and continued over the long Easter weekend. The miners who have been blocking the entrances to the mine include 60 NUM members who have been dismissed for launching a wildcat strike, company executives said.
Illegal strike at Blyvoor - Carletonville Herald carletonvilleherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from carletonvilleherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.