Striking miners put on annual leave

Johannesburg - Samancor Chrome Western mine sent its illegally striking mine workers on annual leave from Wednesday, the mine said.

It had reached the agreement with recognised unions, mine spokeswoman Sunel Pretorius said in a statement.

“The company will continue to monitor the situation and will also continue to engage with its recognised unions,” said Pretorius.

Workers were demanding monthly pay of R12,500 after deductions, a R1500 sleep-out allowance and a R1800 underground allowance.

Earlier on Wednesday, striking workers at the mine blocked its entrance and burnt their National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) T-shirts.

They said they no longer wanted the union to represent them.

Striking workers embarked on a wildcat strike, which was confirmed by the NUM) on Monday.

On Friday, a group of about 400 workers from the mine staged an underground sit-in.

Samancor said the sit-in was organised by individuals and not by a union. - Sapa