NUM calls for the safety of miners

By Rhodé Marshall
05 October 2007

Amidst the tragedy of the 3200 miners trapped underground for over 40 hours at Harmony Gold’s Elandsrand mine in Carltonville after a water pipe burst, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), says that they are extremely unhappy at the level at which the safety deteriorated at mines across the country.

“We remained concerned about the safety of mineworkers in South Africa and we see that there is indeed a dire need for the industry to actually ensure that they will achieve what they had set out in terms of ensuring that there is zero fatalities in the industry,” says NUM National Spokesperson, Lesiba Seshoka.

The union says the incident of the trapped miners should be a wakeup call for employers in the mining industry.

“We have called on the Minister of Minerals and Energy to intervene as a matter of urgency, as NUM we will do everything in our power to forfeit the industry to actually adhere to these standards,” says Seshoka.

By late last night all the miners were rescued and the mine has been closed.