Num backs Cosatu strike

Johannesburg - The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) has urged its members to join the Congress of South African Trade Unions' protest action against Gauteng e-tolling and labour brokers, scheduled for next week.

In its post national executive committee (NEC) statement, after its meeting held last week, the union said on Monday: "We remain convinced that the Cosatu position on rejecting the Gauteng tolling remains relevant and we will mobilise our members to join the march against the system."

The NEC also lamented government's intention to regulate labour brokers and appealed to the state to reconsider its position.

The committee tasked its national office bearers last week to engage Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] further as soon as all workers at the company's Rustenburg mine were back at work on issues relating to reinstatement and concerns raised by the rock drill operators.

The world's second-largest platinum miner said on Sunday it was confident that the work stoppage that has disrupted operations at its mine over the past five weeks was coming to an end.

Meanwhile, the NEC also expressed serious concerns on the impending retrenchment of 2 000 workers at the Blyvoor mine of DRDGOLD [JSE:DRD], 500 at First Uranium Corporation [JSE:FUM], and 1 500 at Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS].