(Adds trade union comment)
JOHANNESBURG Feb 2 (Reuters) – Impala Platinum
, the world’s second largest platinum producer, said on
Thursday it had dismissed 13,000 employees, bringing to 17,200
those sacked since the start of a labour dispute almost two
weeks ago.
Workers were given until Wednesday to return to work at its
Rustenburg operations or face dismissal.
A process of rehiring, which could give the fired workers a
chance to reapply for their jobs, would be “undertaken in due
course”, the company said in a statement.
The stoppage is costing Implats 3,000 platinum ounces a day
in lost production.
The dispute centres on retention bonuses awarded to only
part of the workforce. The latest round of dismissals follows
the firing of drill operators who initiated a stay-away a
fortnight ago that was declared illegal by a court.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said it was
disappointed the company had resorted to firing-and-rehiring.
NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the process of rehiring
took a long time and the longer it took, the harder the
operations would be hit.
The trade union believes that many of those dismissed were
not on strike but prevented from reporting for work due to
intimidation.
Continued…
