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Johannesburg - Mining company Glencore won an interim interdict in the Labour Court on Wednesday against the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) conducting a secondary strike at its Optimum Coal mine.
"Glencore will participate in the review process by the [Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration] CCMA as directed by the court to seek a lasting solution to this as well as the ongoing strike action at its Koornfontein operation," spokesperson Gugulethu Maqetuka said in a statement.
In October, around 500 NUM members embarked on the strike at Glencore's Koornfontein mine in Mpumalanga, at the mine's Gloria shaft.
The strike started after the company and NUM deadlocked at the CCMA, NUM acting national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said at the time.
"This follows the decision by the company to offer retrenchment packages to employees as a result of restructuring at the mine, following difficult market conditions," Maqetuka said at the time.
"Glencore has undertaken to explore the redeployment of some of the employees to other Glencore Coal operations where vacancies exist."
The company was putting together support services for affected employees.
Mammburu said workers were being paid one week of service per year in severance pay, while at other operations they were being paid three weeks of service per year.
NUM Highveld regional secretary Stanley Lebelo said: "Why is the company paying separate packages? Glencore is deviating from the same formula it is using at other operations like Tweefontein and Tugo.
"This company is very arrogant because even when we were dealing with picketing rules we could not reach an agreement because they wanted to impose their own picketing rules."
He said the CCMA imposed reasonable picketing rules on the parties.
"We are being undermined and we will make sure they feel the pinch. We are also intending to apply for a secondary strike from other Glencore operations," said Lebelo.
