No retrenchments as yet - Billiton
Fri, 11 Apr 2008
None of the workers at the BHP Billiton aluminium smelter in Richards Bay have been retrenched yet and none of the potlines have been shut down, the plant's head of communication Maredi Mogodi said on Thursday.
He was responding to reports that two potlines at the company's Bayside smelter were closed on Wednesday.
"There is a ramp down of potlines meaning that we are decreasing the number of pots to meet with Eskom's 10 percent energy reduction. But this does not mean that they have been shut down," he said.
Mogodi said this reduction would result in the loss of hundreds of millions of rands.
He also stressed that none of the 400 affected workers were retrenched.
"We are continuing consultations with unions in that regard."
Earlier, the Zululand Chamber of Business in a statement said two potlines at the smelter had been closed to meet with Eskom's 10 percent reduction of energy.
The chamber's president Garth Macartney said potline B and C were closed and would result in the loss of between R25 and R30-million each month.
Late last month, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) said that the plant's management had confirmed that it would be issuing final notices to 800 affected workers and that retrenchments would be effected on 1 April.
BHP Billiton denied this.
Sapa
