Africa-Press – South-Africa. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has called on the government to intervene after the death of a worker at a Sedibeng-based steel plant this week.
The union asked the Department of Employment and Labour to investigate health and safety standards and the alleged exploitation of workers at SA Steel Mills.
In a recent statement, Numsa general-secretary Irvin Jim said the worker, Seomogelo Mkhondwane, died when he was crushed by one of the pressing machines. Mere hours later, workers were forced to continue working, even though they were “traumatised”, the union alleged.
Numsa accused management of racism and of exploiting workers.
“Our demands are SA Steel Mills must allow workers to elect safety reps who can be trained in health and safety protocols, a full-time health and safety shop steward elected by workers, and for SA Steel Mills to stop employing undocumented foreign nationals in violation of labour laws,” Jim said.
“Out of 1 000 workers, only 200 are South African. These workers are grossly exploited and some of them are victims of horrific accidents while on the job,” he added.
Earlier this year, the union sent a letter to the Department of Employment and Labour, the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa), and the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC), accusing SA Steel Mills of the exploitation of workers at its plant in Meyerton.
In the letter, which News24 has seen, the union claimed “workers are exposed to a workplace where health and safety standards are undermined and violated with no consequences” and said adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) was not provided.
It also accused the company of not paying workers overtime and of underpaying workers according to industry standards.
In response, SA Steel Mills accused minority segments of being “opportunistic” and said the institution “will not be lured into sensationalism in these circumstances”.
Spokesperson Ashruf Kaka said SA Steel Mills responded to Numsa’s allegations earlier this year and did not receive a reply from the union.
He denied the claim that the company employed a limited number of South Africans.
Kaka said: “The current press statement consists of unsubstantiated and inflammatory allegations […] We have no intentions at this stage of responding to the Numsa press statement in the media.”
He added that the company complied with legislation and statutes in the best interests of its workers and ensured that employees were given “sufficient” protective gear to protect them in the environment of their specific task.
“South African Steel Mills is a member of Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA), which is an insurance company that covers all injuries on duty. Accordingly, all employees that sustain injuries are taken to private clinics where they are fully treated,” he said.
The management of SA Steel Mills and Numsa will meet on Monday to address the union’s concerns.
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