Celani Sikhakhane
The Zululand Anthracite Colliery (ZAC) has ceased operations of its mines as its workers continue to strike for a better salary and improved workers’ rights.
Striking workers told Scrolla.Africa on Wednesday that all of the mine’s 1,000 workers stayed at home.
This included workers who did not previously take part in the sit-in in two of the mine’s shafts last month, which ended when management cut off oxygen supplies.
Scrolla.Africa approached General Manager Wayne Rowe but he refused to comment, saying: “I read Scrolla.Africa and you are the guy who is putting words to my mouth.”
The president of the Association of Mine and Construction Workers Union (AMCU) Joseph Mathunjwa said that the entire strike is a major cause for concern.
“In 2020, ZAC retrenched about 1,000 workers and when the lockdown was uplifted those workers were returned to work. Unfortunately the company did not want to bring back their benefit,” he told Scrolla.Africa.
“Just imagine that workers were earning an amount of R15,000 monthly but that salary has been reduced down to R5,000. This is clear that companies in the mining sector are still exploiting workers,” said Mathunjwa, who compared the situation to life for black people under the oppresive rule of Apartheid.
Workers told Scrolla.Africa on Wednesday that they would be willing for ZAC to close down if it is unable to meet their demands.
On Monday, text messages were sent by Rowe instructing workers to return to work on Tuesday or risk losing their pay if they did not comply.
On Tuesday, striking workers set up a picket line to block all those who were not on strike from entering their place of work.
