Amcu denies being in the wrong and says it will fight the department of labour’s decision to deregister the union.
In a letter sent to companies, its regions and branches, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has strongly denied having done anything to merit its deregistration. In a notice published in the Government Gazette earlier this week, Labour Registrar Lehlohonolo Daniel Molefe announced the government’s plan to cancel Amcu’s registration if it failed to make submissions within a 60-day window period. In the announcement, the labour department cited Amcu’s non-compliance with its own constitution, failure to submit information on financial auditing and the holding of regular elective conferences.
Molefe described the 200,000-member strong Amcu as “not a genuine trade union as envisaged by the Act” after having “ceased to function in terms of its constitution,” in line with the prescripts of the Labour Relations Act.
Reacting to the announcement, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) national spokesperson Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said this decision was aimed at boosting the African National Congress (ANC)-aligned National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
“Just like the bosses, the department prefers unions that are docile and compliant. Amcu has proven to be a militant union. [The] government should stop taking the side of bosses against workers, as they did when they killed workers in Marikana,” Ndlozi said.
In a letter written by Amcu’s secretary general, Jeffrey Mphahlele, on Thursday, 25 April 2019, the union said, “Without going into the specific merits of the matter, we confirm that the allegations levelled against Amcu are denied and we are taking counsel on how best to oppose the action to be taken. We view this as a clear onslaught on Amcu and our struggle for social justice and economic emancipation. We will spare no resources to defend the rights of Amcu and its members.”
Amcu has 60 days to submit its written arguments against Molefe’s decision.
Abenathi Gqomo
a.gqomo@politicalanalysis.co.za
