The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is worried about a “possible bloodbath of job losses” across multiple sectors, including steel, transportation, ferrochrome and mining, on the back of concerns about the 2025 Budget, problems faced by steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) and State-owned logistics company Transnet, along with an underwhelming performance in the mining sector.

At the NUM national executive committee (NEC) meeting, held on February 27 and 28, the various issues were discussed, ranging from reflections on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent State of the Nation Address to concerns about the South African National Defence Force – something which is arguably outside of the NUM’s purview.

STEEL

On February 28, Engineering News reported that AMSA would be proceeding with the wind down of its longs business after talks with government had failed to yield the “timely solutions required” to prevent the closure.

“The situation in the steel sector is a serious concern and challenge to the economy of the country. Steel remains an important commodity for the economy of the country.

“The imminent shutdown poses a serious threat to job security [and a] negative impact to the economy and broader society. [AMSA] has announced job losses of about 3 500. That is a bloodbath for the poor workers,” the NUM said.

The NUM NEC called on government to intervene in saving the situation and avoid job losses. The impact of high tariffs relating to operational cost, as well as transportation and exportation were raised as key challenges for AMSA.

The NUM NEC went further, suggesting that government take ownership of AMSA, turning it into another State-owned entity (SOE).

“The NEC believes this is the right time for government to reclaim the giant steel producer in the interest of our economy [and] in the interest of workers and the communities of Newcastle, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. The possible shutdown will affect small businesses that are depending on the operations,” the NUM said.

Given the signing into law of the Expropriation Bill in December, which allows the State to take ownership of any moveable and immoveable property for nil compensation if it is deemed to be in the public interest, a State-owned longs business would not be entirely outside the realm of possibility.

FERROCHROME

Insofar as ferrochrome is concerned, the NUM was perturbed by producers facing heavy pressure from the economy and failing to compete globally with countries such as China.

High tariffs, high electricity prices and the cost of transportation of raw material without processing have been cited as contributing factors to the possible mothballing of two-thirds of ferrochrome producer Merafe’s ferrochrome smelting capacity.

“This will have a negative impact on both Limpopo and the North West. Once again, we call for the intervention of government through the . . . Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the Department of Employment and Labour. Resources of the government must be used to save the situation,” the NUM said.

The NUM NEC said there was a need to reconsider South Africa’s beneficiation policies to prevent the exportation of all raw materials to foreign countries.

“This translates into basically exporting job opportunities to countries such as China. Ferrochrome producers have indicated that failure to find a solution and intervention from government . . . will lead to shut down in the next few months,” the NUM said.

MINING

The NUM NEC also accused the mining industry of the deliberate and intentional replacement of permanent jobs – which have better conditions of employment – with suboptimal subcontracting work, which it said amounted to “cheap labour and the exploitation of workers”.

“We call upon mining companies to stop outsourcing under the pretext of cost [cutting]. This is pure exploitation of workers and [is] rather maximising profit at the expense of workers,” the NUM said.

The union also said it was “deeply worried about the current mining facilities in the country”, even though the domestic mining industry recorded its lowest ever number of fatalities in 2024.

TRANSNET

One of the major contributing factors to the suppression of the domestic mining industry over the past few years is the poor state of Transnet’s freight rail network.

The NUM NEC said it was concerned about the impact of Transnet's dysfunctionality and the inefficiencies in logistics that it was causing for mining companies, which resulted in decreased production and, ultimately, retrenchments and fewer job opportunities.

“Functional SOEs play a vital role in the economy and contribute to public finance oversight. We believe that avoiding a neoliberal trajectory is essential to prevent unemployment, deepening inequalities, and poverty,” the NUM said, despite the fact that most of South Africa’s biggest SOEs – Eskom, Transnet, Denel, PetroSA, Post Office, the South African Broadcasting Corporation and South African Airways – have all proven to be a consistent drain on the fiscus for years and have been a major cause of disinvestment and subsequent job losses.

“The closure of certain Transnet operations has led to increased reliance on trucks for the transportation of goods. This places additional strain on road infrastructure, contributing to a rise in road fatalities. An urgent intervention is need without compromising the national interest. Privatisation cannot be the only solution but the role of government is critical,” the NUM said.

ENERGY

In the energy sector, the NUM said it remained opposed to the unbundling of Eskom because it feared job losses and privatisation, which would reduce government control. This despite the fact that the government had failed to successfully run the electricity generation business for decades, leading to loadshedding, power outages, soaring tariffs and massive debt.

The union believes, without evidence, that splitting Eskom into separate entities for generation, transmission and distribution will lead to profit-driven management, higher electricity costs, and instability in the energy sector.

The NUM also reiterated its opposition the Just Energy Transition (JET), calling it unfair and a threat to job security.

“As a union we . . . oppose the unfair [JET] processes that exclude sufficient worker participation and communities that are affected. We are firm and consistent in our call to have coal as part of energy mix.

“Considering [the] levels of dependency on coal for power generation, it is [an] equally critical mineral in the South African perspective. Given the levels of unemployment in South Africa, job creations and job security should be our national priority and national interest,” NUM said.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Despite the fact that the passing of the Expropriation Act was a key factor in the US government’s decision to withdraw all foreign aid and funding from South Africa and might even lead to expulsion from the African Growth and Opportunities Act – which would result in major job losses locally – the NUM commended the African National Congress for this “bold and decisive move under difficult circumstances and disconcertment of [the] Government of National Unity”.

“We call for swift implementation. The government should resist the attempt by imperialist forces such as US to derail the deliberate and well-intended programme to realise the objectives and vision of the Freedom Charter and [Marxist-Leninist and nationalist-socialist] National Democratic Revolution,” the NUM said.