"Charter warning as AngloGold starts retrenching 8 500 workers", 28 June 2017

AngloGold Ashanti...is embarking on retrenchments that could see 8 500 workers lose their jobs, a move seen as the first of many to hit the mining industry as a consequence of the Mining Charter..."This is a difficult decision which follows a period of significant and - ultimately - unsustainable losses, and also the evaluation of the options available to return our South African business to profitability," said AngloGold Ashanti chief executive officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan. Trade union Solidarity confirmed on Wednesday that its members have received retrenchment notices. It warned that this round of job shedding could be the beginning of a trend in retrenchments in the mining sector due to the negative impact of the Mining Charter...According to Connie Prinsloo, deputy general secretary of the mining industry at Solidarity, AngloGold Ashanti's announcement is especially worrying since the firm already cut almost 990 jobs during a previous retrenchment process. “The trade union will now intensively engage with the management of AGA with the aim of finding solutions to retain as many jobs as possible at the mine. Solidarity will of course be pleased with every job that can possibly be saved,” said Prinsloo...