NUM pays R1.25m after reign of terror

The National Union of Mineworkers has learnt the hard way that replacing dialogue with violence during labour disputes can be costly.

It has agreed to pay Good Hope Construction R1.25-million for damage its members caused during protests in Cape Town in 2015.

Scenes of burning cars and damaged equipment and claims of kidnapping, stabbing and intimidation dominated headlines when more than 200 NUM members went on the rampage at building sites, demanding protective clothing and payment according to skills.

Good Hope instituted a R15-million damages claim against the union. The matter was set down for argument in the Labour Court on Monday, when the negotiated settlement was made an order of the court.

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Raziek Rajah, a director of Good Hope, said his was the first company to win such a substantial claim against a union in the Labour Court.

He said NUM Western Cape organiser, Benson Ngqentsu, incited the violence. Criminal charges had been laid against the perpetrators of the violence but no one had been arrested.

"We had one site where petrol bombs were thrown and one where people were beaten. They kidnapped two of our guys in Macassar and put them on a truck and took them all over Cape Town. They kept calling their wives saying: 'Tell the company to pay,'" said Rajah.

"A tyre was put around a foreman's wife, petrol was thrown on her and they phoned him and said: 'You either come home now and forget about Good Hope, otherwise forget your wife.'"

Rajah said a new employee, appalled by the NUM's actions, filmed most of the meetings where the attacks were planned. The man now fears for his life and is set to leave the province.

"One of our directors, Mick Lamberti, got a picture of his five-year-old daughter and a message saying: 'Watch this space, when we rape her we will send you the photo.' It is part of the court record," said Rajah.

Lamberti said employees attacked Good Hope workers at Scottsdene High School in Kraaifontein. "They smashed the machines, they smashed the excavators, they smashed our trucks, the bakkies and two of our staff vehicles were set alight," he said.

"It was frightening. You can imagine standing there and it's only the 30 of you and you have 200 people coming in and just throwing, destroying and smashing everything inside. It was unbelievable. The scary thing is that the kids were in the school, learning."

The allegations are contained in court papers. Rajah said most of the R15-million claim was for security costs the company incurred. "We paid medical fees for some employees who had been attacked. The saddest part for me was when our female staff were terrorised, chased and hit."

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Although more than 200 workers were fired and the union has to fork out the R1.25-million, the union claimed victory.

"As [a] product of workers withdrawing their labour power, [the] employer was forced to pay R2.2-million to the workers through the Building Industry Bargaining Council [and] provide personal protective equipment in the same year. This was a serious advance for the workers, who were about to lose millions of rands to the barbaric employer," the union's Ngqentsu said.

Good Hope's lawyer, Sean Pienaar, welcomed the settlement. "It's refreshing to see a union, especially one as influential as the NUM, being held accountable for their actions and those of their members," he said.

"The law cannot and should not allow unions and their members to hold companies to ransom through violence and unlawful conduct. We can only hope that orders such as [this] will deter all unions from acting irresponsibly and ensure they encourage their members to picket peacefully in accordance with the law."

Western Cape police spokeswoman Noloyiso Rwexana said cases in Khayelitsha and Kraaifontein were "open for investigation. No one has been arrested or charged yet."

nombembep@sundaytimes.co.za