"Harmony Gold workers end underground sit-in" 13 Jan 2017

Harmony Gold said on Friday that it had safely returned to surface all employees involved in an illegal underground sit-in for more than 30 hours at the Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville, west of Johannesburg...Formal demands from the workers were given to the company only late on Thursday, which included the payment of a special bonus, the removal of the general manager and an assurance that disciplinary action against them would not be pursued. After hours of negotiations on Thursday, 18 employees were evacuated to the surface as a result of ill health...In a statement, Harmony Gold said all employees returned to surface shortly before midnight on Thursday following all-night discussions between management and union leadership...Harmony’s chief executive, Peter Steenkamp said: “We are pleased that a resolution has been reached and that all our employees have returned to surface safely.”...Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) said on Friday that it took part in the discussions with mine management...The union said the company had commited to paying bonuses before the workers ended their sit-in...