Mantashe urges mining companies to reconsider layoffs

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Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has appealed to mining companies to reconsider their planned retrenchments in this current economic environment.

This week some mining companies announced their intentions to cut thousands of jobs in the coming months.

Sibanye-Stillwater is planning to lay off 2 382 workers while Anglo-American contemplates shedding around 180 jobs.

Delivering a closing address on the last day of the Joburg Indaba looking into the mining sector, Mantashe says amid all this, the industry has proven to be the saviour of the country’s fiscus and must be protected.

“When the fiscus is in trouble already mining comes to the fore and saves the fiscus. This was clear and glaring during COVID-19 when everybody said everything was collapsing it is mining that drove and led the economic reconstruction and recovery.”

South Africa’s mining sector has been on a gradual decline over the past 30 years. However, higher commodity prices have sustained the sector.

Mining sector set to cut thousands of jobs before festive season:

In the February budget speech, the National Treasury announced that its revenue would exceed non-interest revenue for the first time since 2009 as surging commodity prices lifted revenue.

But the current picture is not good for both the sector and the fiscus due to lower profits.

The Minister has called on mining companies to protect jobs as the county continues to navigate difficult economic times.

Some of the companies at the Joburg Indaba have already started with section 189 consultations on retrenchments.

“Our country is going through a difficult period with the rising cost of living which aggravates poverty unemployment inequality it is therefore expected that the industry will continue saving the fiscus and create much-needed jobs and I want to encourage the industry to be reluctant to retrench workers easily during a difficult period.’

The country has been battling pressure to adequately deal with illegal mining activities.

Mantashe says this act is a war on the economy and the integrity of the mining sector.

“Illegal mining is a criminal activity, it’s not a mining activity and therefore if there are people that are people in illegal mining I am not their Minister, I am the Minister of Mineral Resources the Ministers are Bheki Cele and Thandi Modise. This is a war on the economy and must be attacked as such by the security cluster. We must work with the industry to make this a reality.”

The Minister has also called for the safeguarding of coal resources and for greater collaboration with labour and business to protect jobs and tackle the current challenges at Transnet and Eskom.