Ultimatum on Aurora miners

Trade union federation Cosatu has threatened a mass march to Pretoria if nothing is done about the desperate circumstances of about 700 Aurora miners.

At a meeting yesterday of officials of Cosatu's North West branch and miners at Aurora's Orkney mine, in Klerksdorp, the federation's provincial secretary, Solly Phetoe, said an urgent meeting had been called with the Department of Labour and the Department of Mineral Resources, and the liquidators of the two gold mines, previously owned by Pamodzi, Orkney and Grootvlei.

Grootvlei mine is on the East Rand.

Cosatu has also invited the Chinese company that is to take over the running of the mines from Aurora Empowerment Systems.

Phetoe said a way had to be found to speed up the liquidation inquiry, currently before the Master of the Pretoria High Court. The union claims the inquiry "has been delayed for months due to one postponement after another".

But, said Phetoe, Cosatu will not invite Aurora's directors - President Jacob Zuma's nephew, Khulubuse Zuma; Nelson Mandela's grandson, Zondwa Mandela; Jacob Zuma's attorney, Michael Hulley; and Thulani Ngubane - to discussions because "[we] don't hold meetings with [such people]".

Aurora's directors are facing an insolvency inquiry after being accused of bringing the two mines to their knees by neglecting them and mismanaging assets.

Phetoe said he would ask for the meeting to take place before Friday.

"Failure to resolve this issue of finalising the case, we will have no choice as Cosatu and the National Union of Mineworkers but to lead a march to the liquidators' office in Pretoria," he said.

The inquiry has been delayed on numerous occasions, such as when Zuma's testimony was postponed because he refused to testify in English and wanted a Zulu interpreter. On another occasion he said he could not appear because of ill-health due to his obesity.

Phetoe said the Aurora bosses had ignored a court order to pay the outstanding salaries of Orkney mine workers.

"We have called on the Department of Labour to table the matter [as] contempt of court and open a criminal case against two directors, Zuma and Mandela," he said.

Labour spokesman Page Boikanyo said that after his department intervened for salaries to be paid to miners, unpaid since 2010, only the workers at Grootvlei had received money.

"The department obtained a court order relating to the payment of workers at Orkney. This was delivered to the liquidators. Payment is still outstanding for the workers at Orkney," he said.

Yesterday, Phetoe told Orkney workers that the insolvency inquiry had been postponed to April 17.

Phetoe said that five miners were known to have committed suicide since the mine stopped operating in 2009.

Kgotso Phalatsane, 58, from Lesotho, who lives in the Orkney mine's hostel, said the news of the postponement of the insolvency hearing was disheartening.

Phalatsane said: "Since 2009, I am unable to feed my children and they have been forced to drop out of school.

"Most of the people left here survive on temporary work and, if lucky, earn up to R50 a day. Some of my friends have been left by their wives for failing to provide for their children." - Additional reporting by Sapa