JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – 1 October 2025 – The General Industries Workers
Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) will tomorrow formally present its comprehensive submission
to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) National Inquiry into artisanal mining
and Operation Vala Umgodi. The union will present a radical worker-led program that demands
justice for the Stilfontein tragedy, the nationalisation of the mining industry, and massive public
investment to eliminate unemployment.
KEY POSITIONS IN GIWUSA’S SUBMISSION INCLUDE:
- Accountability for Stilfontein: GIWUSA blames Operation Vala Umgodi for destroying
community-led rescue initiatives and blocking life-savi1ng supplies, which resulted in
starvation, dehydration, and deaths. The union demands an independent commission of
inquiry to fully investigate the events and ensure criminal accountability for all responsible
parties.
- Formalisation of Artisanal Mining: The union will advocate for the comprehensive
formalisation of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector. This includes
developing conducive legal frameworks, ensuring access to land and geological data, and
creating pathways to capital and capacity-building programs for artisanal miners.
- A Just Transition: GIWUSA’s submission will argue that policy must recognise artisanal
mining as a livelihood and focus on integrating these workers into the formal economy with
dignity, safety, and rights, rather than through violent crackdowns.
The union’s submission will further argue that the twin crises of mass unemployment and
deepening poverty are the direct result of a colonial and capitalist mining model. GIWUSA will
present concrete measures, including the nationalisation of the industry and the use of R100
billion in provisional funds for rehabilitation, to create millions of decent jobs and tackle the
inequality that fuels violence and crime.
ADDITIONAL KEY DEMANDS IN GIWUSA’S SUBMISSION WILL THEREFORE INCLUDE:
- Nationalisation and Beneficiation: The nationalisation of the mining industry and the
beneficiation of minerals based on decently paid labour to break the cycle of colonial
extractivism, end cheap migrant labour systems, and build industrial sovereignty.
- Addressing the Mining Legacy: The expropriation of all mines under “care and maintenance”
and abandoned derelict mines. These assets are to be recapitalised for formal operation or
handed over to artisanal miners’ cooperatives, finally addressing the massive legacy of
improperly closed and unrehabilitated shafts.
- A Job Creation Program: The immediate use of R100 billion in provisional funds to launch a
massive public program focused on rehabilitating the mining environment. This program is
designed to create millions of decent jobs, directly combating the desperate unemployment
that affects millions of South Africans and fuels social ills like violent crime and substance
abuse.
WHO: Representatives from the General Industries Workers Union
of South Africa (GIWUSA)
WHAT: Formal submission of positions to the SAHRC National Inquiry.
WHEN: Tomorrow, 2 October 2025
WHERE: SAHRC Offices, Fifth floor, Sentinel House, 32 Princess of Wales
Terrace, Parktown, Johannesburg
WHY: To present a worker’s manifesto for the mining industry, demanding an
end to the colonial mining model and presenting a viable plan to create
millions of jobs to address South Africa’s unprecedented social crisis.
Issued by:
The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA)
For comment call:
Mametlwe Sebei – GIWUSA President
081 368 0706 / mametlwesebei@gmail.com
