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De Beers, NUM to Retrain Workers from Kimberley
Nov 22, 2005 12:26 PM
By Jeanette Goldman
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(Rapaport...November 22, 2005) De Beers and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have worked out an arrangement for the loss of 693 jobs at the diamond giant's closed Kimberley mine in South Africa.
De Beers said that along with NUM the two organizations would retrain and re-skill former employees of the Kimberley mine. On August 1, De Beers informed the NUM of its intention to close underground operations at the mine, which had been operational for more than 100 years. De Beers said the underground mine was tapped-out and had been operating at a loss for two years.
The parties reached consensus on various issues and on November 21, and announced their plans. A Social Plan for the closure of the Kimberley mine, drafted by De Beers, has been presented to the Northern Cape Provincial Government, the Department of Minerals and Energy, as well as the NUM for comment. The stated objectives of the Social Plan are, to mitigate the impact of retrenchments, to improve the quality of life of retrenched employees and affected communities, and to promote a new culture of self-employment and self
maintenance.
Tailing resource processing plants at Kimberley, including the combined treatment plant and the old treatment plant, would continue to produce approximately 2 million carats, De Beers reports. Additional plans are underway to turn the mine into a tourist destination, which would also create new jobs, De Beers predicts.
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Tags:
De Beers, Government, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), South Africa
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