Workers threaten to go on strike
Management of Majwe Mining Joint Venture in Jwaneng is under fire after its workers accused the company’s leadership of nepotism.
The accusations, brought to The Voice’s attention by a number of concerned workers, claim that South African nationals are being favoured over locals when it comes to promotions.
The concerned group highlighted the recent appointments of two under-qualified ‘whites’ (names withheld) and warned the move was likely to destabilise the previously peaceful working environment.
“There are two who were appointed to Head Boiler Workshop and Tyre Bay despite not being qualified. We have Batswana who are more qualified and experienced than those two but they were overlooked. This alone highlights the type of environment we are working in,” declared a vocal member of the group, who threatened to strike if action is not taken.
“If not attended, we will go on strike. Workers are not happy. We want fairness!”
Majwe Mining won a P15.7 billion contract last March. Known as Cut 9, the project is meant to expand the pit at Jwaneng Mine from 650m to 830m, making it one of the deepest open pit diamond mines in the world.
It is hoped the initiative will increase the mine’s lifespan to 2035 while yielding an estimated 53 million carats of rough diamonds from 44 million tones of treated material.
The company was awarded the lucrative tender after it previously undertook a Cut 8 project, which ran from December 2010 to December 2018.
Unfortunately, efforts to get a comment from the Mine failed as questionnaires sent were not responded to by the time of going to press.
The story was even held for an extra week to give them ample time to respond.