Turkey top envoy goes to Niger in bid to secure uranium supplies
The trip comes after Niger’s military government withdrew mining rights from Canadian and French companies to develop uranium deposits.
An illegal strike that led to the dismissal of over 600 employees at the Mototolo mine run by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has been resolved and the workers will be reinstated, the company said on Thursday.
Workers belonging to the General Industrial Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) downed tools on May 12 following a dispute over the employees’ medical scheme, despite an interim South African court interdict against any strike action.
In response, Amplats fired 643 underground workers after its appeal to end the strike was ignored.
The precious metals producer said in terms of the collective agreement signed by the parties, all dismissed employees will be reinstated and will report for duty by Friday.
The union also accepted that the proposed medical aid meets the requirement of the Labour Relations Act, it added.
“We are pleased that we have been able to reach a mutually acceptable outcome through negotiations. Our priority is now to safely restore the mine to full production as quickly as it is practical to do so,” Chief Executive Chris Griffith said in a statement.
Amplats said the agreement also makes provision for employees to earn back their lost income within the next four months through working additional shifts and to make up for lost production, as the no work, no pay principle applied for the duration of the strike.
Amplats acquired Glencore’s 39% stake in the mechanized platinum mine on the eastern fringe of South Africa’s platinum belt in 2018.
(By Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Keith Weir)
