Jinyi Mine reportedly banned any miners represented by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) from entering the mine following a three-day underground strike last week.
East Modder Mining Company also issued suspension letters to 20 miners suspected of being leaders of the general strike.
A large group of miners were called to work from the mine on Tuesday morning, but to their surprise their tags were deactivated and they were denied access to the mine.
Miners were seen standing in long lines, braving the cold, stormy weather.
A text message sent to miners about the long queues said: “The process of returning to normal work has begun. It is not safe to call everyone at the same time, so people will be called in groups.”
“The situation at the entrance was caused by people not receiving text messages back.”
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Suspended miner Palesa Motloung told Scrolla.Africa that some miners with tags allowing access to the mines were asked by security guards stationed at the gate whether they were members of Amcu or the National Union of Mineworkers before entering. (NUM). Allowed to go further.
“When they answered that they were Amuku, the guards tore up the form and were told to go home and await further correspondence from the mine,” she said.
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“Our future depends on fighting for our rights.”
Amcu representative Musa Khalipha said he was first on the list and was labeled as the instigator of the strike.
“There are 20 Amcu miners on this list. This is an attempt to stop us from fighting for workers’ rights,” he said.
“We are now waiting for the employer to send us further information.”
Last Monday, a group of more than 543 miners refused to reappear and demanded that the mines recognize Amcu, a union in which the majority of its members represent miners.
Since 2012, the NUM has been the only union representing miners at the mine, which is a closed operation, but NUM has lost members to Amcu over the years.
When Scrolla.Africa contacted Springs Mine spokesman Chris Nchabeleng, he said the mine was unable to comment at this time but would issue a statement later this week.
