NUMSA Press Statement
24 July 2026
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) confirms members are on strike at Atlantis and Townland Mine, based in Botshabelo Local, Mpumalanga. NUMSA members submitted demands to the employer on 15 April 2026. Having received no adequate response, our members downed tools and embarked on strike action from 15 July 2026.
NUMSA demands the following:
1. Transport: The employer has failed to provide transport for workers, particularly for night shift workers and those who reside in Doornkop and have no means of transport to and from work.
2. Basic Rate of Wages: A revised monthly basic rate across all occupational categories:
- General Worker (R15 000 p/m)
- Articulated Dump Truck (R19 000 p/m)
- Canter (R16 000 p/m)
- Tractor Loader Backhoe (R17 000 p/m)
3. Housing Allowance: R 3 500 per month.
4. Night Shift Allowance: R 100 per night.
5. Production and Safety Bonus: R 5 500.
6. Medical Aid/Medical Insurance: 100% employer contribution.
7. Long Service Monetary Recognition: For workers with long-standing service to the company.
8. Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Payment: In line with the company’s transformation obligations.
9. Skills Development: Access to structured training and skills development programmes.
10. Access to Production Target Figures: Full disclosure to workers of production targets used to determine bonuses and performance.
Despite these demands being tabled since April, the employer has responded only on wages, offering a mere 4.5% increase, while failing to respond to the remaining nine demands. This selective engagement is a clear demonstration of bad faith and arrogance on the part of the employer.
While our members are on a legitimate and protected strike, the employer is continuing production through the employment of undocumented foreign nationals. This is not incidental — it is a deliberate strategy of capital to exploit the most vulnerable layer of the working class – workers without documentation or legal protection.
This happens in order to break strikes, suppress wages, and undermine the collective power of organised labour. This practice exposes the real face of super-exploitation: capital does not care about the nationality of the worker it exploits, only about the cheapest and most easily disciplined labour it can find.
The employer has further compounded these violations by:
- Blocking non-union members from participating in the strike;
- Failing to provide workers with proper access to water and toilets, in violation of the agreed picketing rules;
- Failing to place pickets in the correct picketing areas, as set out in the picketing rules;
- Failing, to date, to respond to any of the outstanding demands.
NUMSA condemns in the strongest terms an employer that responds to legitimate worker demands with silence, that uses undocumented foreign nationals to break a protected strike, and that violates the basic rules of engagement during industrial action.
Our members will not be intimidated, divided, or starved into submission. We call on all relevant authorities to take note of the employer’s conduct regarding undocumented labour. We further call on all progressive forces to stand with our members at Atlantis and Townland Mine until all demands are met.
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 Members Embark on Strike at Atlantis and Townland Mine Over Employer Arrogance and Unresolved Demands