Miners refuse to surface at Kimberley mine protest

More than 150 miners, engaged in an underground protest in support of higher wages, are refusing to come to the surface at eKapa Mines in Kimberley.

The miners – who are spending their fifth day underground on Tuesday – have vowed not to emerge until their wage demands are met.

Orapeleng Moraladi‚ the regional organiser of the National Union of Mineworkers‚ said 78 miners were protesting at Wesselton Shaft and 80 at Joint Shaft in Kimberley.

“The strike currently is about wages but it started with provocation from management. The management said to the workers that they should accept what they are offering as wages and if workers do not accept the wages they will not receive their bonuses‚” he said.

“The production bonus has nothing to do with their wages. They performed their duties and they are entitled to that bonus.”

On Monday‚ miners on the surface joined the strike. Workers have been barred entry to the mines until their colleagues come to the surface‚ said Moraladi.

“As we speak‚ the workers underground are hungry because they haven’t eaten since Friday and we are not sure at this stage if they have water left. There are serious wage disparities between operators working in the mines and workers are asking that salaries be equalised across the mines‚” he said.

Moraladi said operators working at different mines run by the same company earned different salaries‚ ranging from R5‚200 to R9‚000 per month. Moraladi claimed that the disparities were across jobs in the different mines and that miners were fed up with this.

This is a developing story and will be updated with comment from the owners of the mine.