'I will act to save jobs' - Zwane The New Age, Johannesburg, 2 February 2016 The government would continue to take "extraordinary steps" to avoid the "catastrophic step" of mine closures and job losses. This was said by Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane in a statement issued last night in response to the controversy surrounding the proposed purchase of the Optimum coal mine by Oakbay Investments in which the Gupta family holds a stake. "South Africa's mining industry is facing a multitude of challenges following the global commodity meltdown and our priority must be to save as many jobs as possible. In the past few months an increasing number of mining companies have begun issuing section 189 notices in terms of the Labour Relations Act to retrench workers. "Since my appointment, I have adopted a single-minded approach to these challenges and have endeavoured to meet with all the relevant stakeholders, including the major mine owners and unions, to ensure that as many jobs as possible are saved and that as little damage as possible is done to our economy" he said. Zwane said he had adopted an approach of direct engagement with individual rights-holders and had met with CEOs of companies, such as Anglo, Exxaro, Harmony, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Tegeta, on a one-on-one basis to discuss strategies to reverse the challenges that faced the industry. "These meetings are generally of a confidential nature. The decision to take Optimum Coal Holdings into business rescue had naturally escalated the risk of liquidation and the loss of 3000 jobs. Changing the status quo "The meeting with Glencore in Switzerland forms part of my mandate as the Minister of Mineral Resources and is in keeping with the undertakings made in August 2015 at the mining retreat of leadership around the issue of avoiding job losses and indeed reversing the damage done to our industry. "As part of government's move to develop black industrialists and broaden economic empowerment, the Tegeta Optimum deal is to be welcomed as it is a significant step towards resolving our socio-economic challenges while also opening opportunities for black-owned entities and changing the status quo. I would like to emphasise my open-door policy approach, and look forward to other black-owned operators such as Tegeta contributing towards transforming the industry." He said intervention was critical to revitalise the mining industry. No hesitation "I will not hesitate should similar circumstances arise involving other players. "I remain committed to ensuring we swiftly address the challenges facing the industry presently, which will allow us to better take advantage of the next upswing in mining when it occurs," Zwane said. In a report on the Media 24 online site, Glencore said it worked with "stakeholders" including the government to facilitate the sale of its Optimum coal mine after the Sunday Times reported that Zwane met Glencore's chief executive officer ahead of the mine's sale to Oakbay. Glencore placed the mine in business rescue, which means that it is handed over to curators or business rescue practitioners, after it failed to convince Eskom to loosen the terms of an agreement that Glencore said made Optimum unviable. The mine was sold by the business rescue practitioners to Tegeta. "Glencore has been working with the BRP's of Optimum Coal and all other stakeholders including government" the company said. "Glencore is pleased with the terms of the transaction concluded by the BRPs with Tegeta." From: http://tnaepaper.co.za/DRIVE/main%20edition/02022016/epaperpdf/2.pdf -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
