NUMSA Press Statement
8 July 2026
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) is making an urgent, call to all relevant stakeholders to intervene immediately and halt the impending slaughter of jobs at Transalloys—South Africa’s last remaining manganese smelter in the Emalahleni Municipality in Mpumalanga Province.
The company’s suspension of operations and shutdown of all furnaces on 1 July 2026 has placed over 600 direct jobs on the chopping block, directly threatening the livelihoods of thousands of working-class families who depend on this plant for survival.
Transalloys CEO and General Operations Manager, Mr. Theo Morkel, has stated that the company is engaged in negotiations with Eskom over skyrocketing electricity tariffs. Management has made it clear: if a sustainable tariff is not secured, they will permanently shut down operations.
While management claims the retrenchment consultation process with organised labour has concluded, the Board of Directors has not yet taken the final decision. They claim to remain hopeful for an Eskom breakthrough. However, the working class cannot afford to live on hope while our livelihoods hang by a thread.
NUMSA warns that the permanent closure of Transalloys will deal a devastating, irreversible blow to the local economy. Beyond the immediate destruction of 600 direct jobs, an estimated 10,000 indirect jobs across the supply chain may be obliterated.
We refuse to fold our arms and watch eMalahleni be turned into another economic ghost town, following the catastrophic closure of EVRAZ Highveld Steel! The working class cannot continue to pay the price for skyrocketing energy costs and state failures.
We demand that Eskom, the Department of Electricity and Energy, and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) stop dragging their feet. They must urgently lock heads with the company and organised labour to hammer out an immediate rescue package to secure the future of Transalloys.
NUMSA believes a temporary electricity tariff relief package—similar to bailouts previously granted to other energy-intensive smelters—is a non-negotiable, practical necessity while a long-term strategy is formulated to address the energy crisis suffocating the ferroalloy industry.
NUMSA remains committed to defending every single job. We urge all stakeholders to act with maximum urgency before another strategic industrial asset is sacrificed at the altar of high electricity costs, leaving hundreds of workers stranded in poverty.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
Issued by Collen Mahlangu
NUMSA Mpumalanga Regional Secretary
CollenM@numsa.org.za
083 253 7408
For more information, please contact:
Mbali Ngwenda
NUMSA Media & Communications
mbalin@numsa.org.za
078 458 0617
For more information:
NUMSA Head Office: 011 689 1700
NUMSA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NumsaSocial
NUMSA Twitter account: @Numsa_Media
NUMSA Website: https://numsa.org.za/
PDF DOWNLOAD: NUMSA Demands Immediate Intervention To Save Transalloys And Halt The Brutal Destruction Of Working Class Jobs!