A portion of the miners who remained underground for over two days during a standoff between competing South African labor unions have commenced resurfacing, as reported by their representatives on Wednesday.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), one of the two unions engaged in the conflict, has stated that out of the over 500 workers who had not emerged from the Gold One mine in Springs, located to the east of Johannesburg, following a night shift on Monday morning, 107 of them have now returned to the surface.
“They are currently at the medical station for further check-ups,” NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu told media.
Both the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the mine’s management asserted that the workers were being unlawfully detained by members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which is a competing union.
AMCU refuted the allegations, contending that the miners were engaging in a “sit-in” protest.
“I am told that they overpowered those that were holding them hostage and ran away,” the NUM’s Mammburu said of the 107 who made it out Wednesday.
Rescue and security teams are actively engaged in efforts to evacuate the remaining miners.
The AMCU’s regional secretary, Tladi Mokwena, challenged this version of events, asserting that all the miners were emerging voluntarily due to a depletion of their food supplies.
“Management has closed all the routes for them to receive food. So, we couldn’t allow workers to stay underground without food,” he said.
Police did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, a police spokeswoman, stated that officers were on standby and actively monitoring the situation as discussions between the mine and the unions were in progress.
A media journalist at the location on Tuesday evening observed police and security personnel patrolling the area while approximately 100 miners, predominantly from the AMCU, sang protest songs while awaiting the results of the meeting between mine management and the unions.
The dispute centers on union representation at the mine, with the NUM being the sole officially registered group at the moment.
The AMCU claims that a substantial majority of miners have expressed their intention to join the union. However, they have not yet received official representation, and this is the primary reason behind their protest.
The NUM was established in 1982 and counts President Cyril Ramaphosa, a former labor union leader, among its founders. It continues to be the largest mineworker union in the country.
