Debswana Union Officials Face Contempt Charges for Wildcat Strike

As striking workers slowly return to work at Debswana’s mines, union officials are to appear in court today (Thursday) to face contempt charges for the partial strike. But while the sides are not currently negotiating wage salaries union leader Senna Gaebepe says dismissals are the big issue at hand.

Two weeks after the wildcat strike started, many of the strikers have returned to work, however 440 letters of dismissal were issued to striking workers, followed by “encouragements” to leave company housing.

Employee Relations Manager Jacob Sesinyi told IDEX Online today that the company is not forcing anyone out of their houses. He said they were considering their legal options regarding those refusing to leave. “We are not going to do anything illegal,” he said adamantly.

And that seems to be a central issue for Debswana right now. “The rule of law is above all,” he says in regard to the strikes that started after a court ruled that the workers could not strike.

Gaebepe feels that the central issue now is the reinstatement of the fired workers. Debswana says that they can appeal to management and state their case.

The union lost a lot of ground due to the strike, and now is willing to accept the 10 percent pay raise and 10 percent bonus offer it rejected until the strike, and in return have the dismissed workers re-instated, or as Gaebepe gently puts it: “Dismissal is not the best option”.

Sesinyi is not completely rejecting the demand, saying they are also willing to return to the negotiations, and discuss the reinstatements on a case by case basis.

Recent reports of two deaths at the mines have been categorically rejected by the company, which said one of the two miners died of an asthma attack at home, while the other, apparently a resident of company housing, is not a Debswana employee.

For now the Damtsha mine is still closed, but according to Debswana spokesman Kabalo Binns, the mine was ahead of schedule and the other three mines, while not working at full capacity, are still meeting production targets.