Amplats proposal to be postponed
The big news of late that was announced on Tuesday the 15 January 2013 was that Anglo American Platinum planned to stop production at four of its shafts in Rustenburg. This could result in the loss of 14,000 jobs. It is also planned to sell a mine in Limpopo considered unsustainable, which could result in 1,000 more job losses. But on Monday 28 January it was decided to postpone this process.
The Tri-partite (Department of Mineral Resources, Anglo American Platinum (“Amplats”) and organised labour (NUM, AMCU, NUMSA, UASA), chaired by the Department of Mineral Resources, met on Thursday to explore mechanisms of engagement on ‘Amplats’ restructuring proposals. The parties decided that the process will be postponed to further investigate and explore the proposal in detail. This process will take no more than 60 days starting from the 30 January 2013.
They will keep the public updated as and when appropriate. It is good to think that there might be light at the end of the tunnel. All we can do is hope for a positive outcome on this situation. We as the people of Rustenburg can’t let this situation get us down, but if it does, we should rise up again and climb higher than ever before.