Johannesburg - Striking workers at Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] KDC West Mine, in
Carletonville, were uncertain about their future after a notice was
handed out on Wednesday.
"At the moment we are still in the darkness. At the
moment we don't know," mineworker Bernard Skozana said. "We will be
marching like we did today."
Hundreds of striking workers began gathering on a hill outside the mine on Wednesday afternoon.
The miners, who have been on strike for three weeks,
carried sticks, pipes and axes as they made their way along the long
road leading to the hill.
The miners thought the notice was an eviction order,
but Gold Fields' spokesperson Sven Lunsche said an application for an
eviction order had yet to be processed by the High Court in Pretoria.
What the workers had received was a sheriff's notice requesting reasons why they should not be evicted.
Lunsche said the mine wanted the 5 000 miners living in hostels evicted because of safety concerns.
Hostels were becoming a "hot-bed of violence" where
petrol bombs were being made and plans for illegal action were being
drawn up.
However, some miners on the hill, who began streaming
down towards the hostel after getting the notice, wanted to gather their
belongings.
"I was thinking [of] my stuff right now. I would make a plan," said Skozana.
Security guards stationed at the entrance gates to the hostels were confiscating weapons and searching cars.
* Follow
Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.