THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has elected Daniel Balepile from the Rustenburg region as president, in a closely fought contest which saw John Montisetse unseated.
The congress ended on Friday with NUM members electing the national leadership that they believed were capable of pushing forward the adopted theme – “Back to basic is when we defend and advance to build a radical movement”.
About 750 voting and non-voting delegates participated in the three-day congress with a number of NUM’s former leaders guiding the process.
Except for re-elected deputy president Philip Vilakazi, all leaders elected are new national office bearers of the union.
They include general secretary William Mabapa, his deputy Mpho Phakedi and treasurer-general Helen Diatile.
Other national office bearers are Olehile Kgware (education chairperson), lefty Mashego (education secretary), Duncan Luvuno (health and safety chairperson) and Masibulele Naki (health and safety secretary).
Addressing the elective congress, President Cyril Ramaphosa Ramaphosa encouraged NUM and Cosatu to ensure that SA’s workers were organised.
“Taking forward the workers’ struggle depends on a strong and united alliance to ensure that Cosatu remains strong but also the alliance which includes the ANC, because the ANC itself has to reclaim its stature as the leader of society,” said Ramaphosa.
“This it can do through the mobilisation you generate as a union and as Cosatu.”
Ramaphosa thanked the union for “playing a very important role” in the 2021 local government elections. He urged workers to get involved as ordinary members of the alliance “so the ANC can move with greater determination to renew itself”.
He also said mineworkers should not end up as the losers of strike action.
“In the end we want an industry that continues to operate. Mineworkers must not end up being losers in all of this,” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa’s comments come as NUM enters a third week of strike action at the gold mines of Sibanye-Stillwater.
The strike, called with the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) followed about seven months of negotiations over wages.
Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said the firm’s last revised offer in December of a R700 per month increase for entry-level miners was final.
The NUM and AMCU are seeking a R1,000/month increase which Sibanye-Stillwater said would load up the mines with R1bn a year in additional costs it could not ultimately support.
Before even two weeks of the strike had passed, entry-level employees had lost the economic benefit they would have received had Sibanye-Stillwater agreed to the unions’ R1,000 per month wage increase, according to Sibanye-Stillwater data.
If the strike extends for another week, employees will lose the benefit for a year of Sibanye-Stillwater having agreed to union demands.
- Inside Politics
