APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) Some 100 South African miners allegedly held hostage underground by fellow workers for over four days at a gold mine near Johannesburg came out Wednesday, a senior company official has confirmed.
About 543 workers at Gold One International’s Modder East Mine have, since October 20, been prevented from returning to the surface by members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) following a dispute over recognition of the union.
The dispute is over the decision by the company to recognise the rival National Union of Mineworkers as the bona fide body representing workers at the mine.
AMCU has claimed to meet the criteria needed to reach the status and resorted to the latest action where it kept workers underground following last Friday’s night shift.
Gold One Mine head of legal affairs Ziyaad Hassam confirmed that the workers started walking out of the mine early Wednesday.
“We can confirm that nearly 100 have come out. We are still receiving them and checking on their health and well-being. They will be taken to the clinic,” Hassan said.
He said the company was “still investigating so that we get a sense of what is going on”.
AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa, however, denied his members were involved in a “hostage situation” at Gold One Mine.
“The night shift refused to come back from underground due to their frustration of their membership applications to AMCU not being processed since March this year,” Mathunjwa said.
NM/jn/APA