Dear families and mates,
We learned about the bad luck in the Macalder mines through the Kenyan Peasants League. With our thoughts we are with the trapped and missing colleagues who are fighting for their lives, but also with the relatives of the killed buddies and their friends.
Two miners have been confirmed dead and four others are still missing in Macalder Mines in Nyatike Migori County after the quarry collapsed due to heavy rains that is pounding the area.
According to reports in one of the local dailies the Star, the bodies of the dead miners were pulled 24 hours after the accident raising issues regarding disaster response when such cases occur.
Employees of the Langer Heinrich Uranium (LHU) mine have expressed dissatisfaction with how negotiations were handled when the majority of them were laid off recently when the mine was mothballed.
Trade unions in South Africa are calling for an urgent review of safety after almost 1,000 miners were trapped underground for more than 24-hours at the Sibanye-Stillwater Beatrix gold mine in Free State.
All the 955 miners had been brought to the surface by around 6am on Friday 2 February after being stuck down the mine following a storm on the night of Wednesday 31 January that caused a power outage.
Hundreds of women in western Zimbabwe who have waged a week-long sit-in at Hwange Colliery Co. Ltd. (HCCL), demanding unpaid wages for their husbands who labor in the company’s coal mines, say they are set to march to tourist-packed Victoria Falls. There, says the women’s spokesperson, Thokozile Ncube, “we will tell the world everything about the company and how our government has failed us.”
To the striking miners of the Kusasalethu gold mine
the dismissal of a union leader of the militant trade union AMCU, as well as the attempt to declare your strike illegal, shows very clearly how the international mining companies want to assert their interests against the miners. He has my full support and solidarity and I will do everything in my power to make your struggle known worldwide.
From Germany there is an increased interest in Kenya. This is no coincidence. At the latest in 2012, international corporations were attracted to the deposits of rare earths in Kenya. According to experts, e.g. the niobium deposit in southeast Kenya is the sixth largest in the world. The exploitation of the entire reserves would make Kenya a major supplier of this rare metal.
Vale says coal workers in Mozambique strike over pay 17th February 2016 By: Reuters EMAIL THIS ARTICLE MAPUTO – Workers at Vale's Moatize coal mine in Mozambique have been on strike since Tuesday due to a dispute over bonus payments, the company said on Wednesday. Mozambican state news agency earlier reported that 1 400 workers went on strike because Vale had cut a profit-sharing bonus called "variable remuneration", which the company says it only pays if it achieves strong results. Vale says no employee globally was paid the bonus because the company didn't achieve the required financial performance last year due to depressed commodity prices.
It is our preference that if you wish to share this article with others you should please use the following link:http://www.miningweekly.com/article/vale-says-coal-workers-in-mozambique-strike-over-pay-2016-02-17
Greetings of solidarity to the striking South African Coalminers and their union NUM
Dear friends and comrades, We have learned that you are on strike for higher wages since Sunday, 4th October. We wish you a lot of strength, endurance and success in the fight for your goals!
In Germany, where the last mines are to be closed, the workers and their families also look at you. The miners are faced with the challenge of preventing the pit closures. It is about jobs and our environment! It will be destroyed with fracking and toxic waste underground deposits. Let us not allow that international mining companies increase their profits at the
expense of the health of humans and nature.
Buy Photos JOHANNESBURG – Eskom does not expect the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM's) strike in the coal sector to have an immediate effect on its coal supplies, but prolonged industrial action will deplete the power utility's stockpiles. Over 30 000 NUM members went on strike on Sunday after NUM and affected coal companies – Anglo Coal, Glencore, Delmas, Exxaro Coal, Kangra and Msobo – could not reach an agreement over NUM's demand for R1 000 for the lowest category and 14% for the artisans, miners and officials. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration issued a certificate of non-resolution to the dispute between NUM and the companies last week. A protracted strike could see the return of Eskom's coal problems as its coal supplies will be depleted, threatening the utility's ability to supply power. On Monday, Eskom said there is no immediate threat to power supply as most of its coal-fired power stations have stockpiles of over 30 days. Spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said in the event of the strike continuing for too long, Eskom could tap into the coal reserves kept by the various mining companies. "However, that is not ideal because we will have to truck the coal. Secondly, it will be costly. Hopefully the strike will end very soon," Phasiwe said. Low stockpiles and poor coal at Eskom power stations were among the main reasons for the 2008 power supply crisis. Immediately after the 2008 power shortages Eskom took steps to increase coal stockpiles from under 10 days. These included buying coal, at relatively high prices, on short-term contracts. The coal strike could, therefore, bring back days of low stockpiles.