Question NW1661 to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources
11 December 2024 - NW1661
Zondi, Mr S to ask the Mineral and Petroleum Resources
Given the loss of close to 7000 jobs in mining sector during the second quarter of the 2023-24 financial year, what steps is his department taking to halt the job losses?
Reply:
In the absence of a legally established Board, the department-maintained constant communication with the Minerals Council of South Africa regarding potential retrenchments and strategies to mitigate the effects of job losses on miners and their communities. The objective was to ensure that retrenchments are executed responsibly and that significant efforts are made to ameliorate the impact of job losses.
Some of interventions made included engagement with the Department of Employment and Labour, looking at interventions by Productivity SA. The Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources empowered by the provisions of section 59 (2) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act 28 of 2002) (MPRDA), as amended appointed the Minerals and Petroleum Board for a period of three (3) years with effect from 18 March 2024 until 19 March 2027.
The Board amongst other functions is responsible for advising the Minister on issues relating to job losses. The Board is currently engaging companies where job losses are looming to firstly look at measures/or mechanisms to prevent any job losses. Where job losses cannot be avoided, they should encourage companies to humanely manage retrenchments and ameliorate the impact on individuals and communities.