A Blyvoor Gold source said about 60% of the workforce has returned after about seven weeks of disruption followed the murder of company director and Blyvoor Workers’ Union (BWU) leader Wels Sempe.
Located near Carletonville, Blyvoor went into liquidation after it was crippled by a violent wildcat strike in 2012. Over R1-billion in investment, most of it foreign, has been raised in recent years to get the mine back on its feet. But union rivalry brought it to a standstill in March.
“The police were failing to follow an interdict instructing them to arrest people causing disturbances on mine property, so we got another high court order and then the police arrested a few of the perpetrators,” a company source told
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”.