Cosatu to march at Lily Mine in Mpumalanga
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will march to Lily Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga, on Sunday to put pressure on management to “find” three trapped mineworkers, the federation said on Friday.
“Cosatu will stage a protest march to the Lily Mine management on the 12th June 2016 [Sunday] to put more pressure on the company and government to fast-track the process of bringing to the surface the bodies of trapped miners and also compensate the stranded workers who are currently sitting at home,” Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said on Friday.
Cosatu also wanted government to establish a commission of inquiry into the Lily Mine disaster.
“We feel strongly that it was the reckless conduct of mine bosses who failed to adhere to health and safety regulations that caused the accident.
“A study conducted by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology civil engineering department on the Lily Mine accident has concluded that since mine sinkholes are mostly caused by humans it is likely that it was human conduct that caused the accident,” he said.
The study showed that mine sinkholes could be caused by drilling operations vibrations causing “movement in the soil”.
Creating tunnels too close to each other underground weakened the supporting structure of the “surrounding soil and lead[s] to the collapse of the soil”.
“Construction of incorrect supporting tunnel systems, broken water or drain pipes, [and] large amounts of water can also penetrate through mud and rocks which lead[s] to ground erosion and sinkholes.
“We want the commission to look at some of these factors so that we can all know who or what was responsible for the disaster and also find long-term solutions not just for Lilly Mine but for the mining industry in general,” Pamla said.
Lily mine was placed under business rescue after suspending operations in February after three workers were trapped underground when the lamp room container they were working in fell into a sinkhole created by a collapsed crown pillar before being covered by huge rocks. The bodies of Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyerende, and Yvonne Mnisi have yet to be retrieved.
The march would be led by Cosatu and National Union of Mineworkers leaders.