A number of employees have allegedly been defrauded by the Central Rand Gold (CRG) mining company in Roodepoort, as they have not been paid in months.
About 130 employees are left stranded, frustrated and in debt after Central Rand Gold (CRG) closed its gates and chased them away with armed security men and dogs.
CRG has been in the media numerous times, for all the wrong reasons, such as alleged fraud and corruption against South African laws and its employees.
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According to a senior employee at the company, on a recent Friday morning, employees reported to work as per the norm. Upon their arrival, they found the gates closed and they were chased away by a privately hired security company. They were also threatened with being shot if they tried to gain access to the property.
“We were not expecting them to shut the doors on us, especially without communicating it with us. All we knew was that the company was in financial trouble. Since 2017, they have been struggling to pay us. There were months when we only got half our salaries, sometimes long after payday, without explanation, but for the past few months we have not received a cent from them,” the employees said.
Employees stated that the company has been in trouble with the law, it has been dragged to the CCMA, and the Labour Department is also on their case. The company is not new to controversy. It has previously had its mining licence cancelled by the Department of Mineral Resources, and has had ex-convicts-turned-businessmen, Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene, as minority shareholders.
Apparently, there are illegal activities happening at the mining site. “On numerous occasions we have seen management put the gold or other minerals into their cars. We suspect that they knew a long time ago that the mine was going to close, that is why they were stealing the gold,” said one of the employees.
The company has failed to pay pension funds, UIF and bonuses; however, the employee contributions were deducted from their salaries.
“I have worked for the company for over 10 years, but they did not give me a cent from my pension fund. I have made millions for the company, worked myself into a sweat, and had hardly any time with my family. I have dedicated myself to the well-being of the company, and this is how they thank me,” an employee cried.
When the Record journalist called Zolile Smous, secretary-general of the Building Allied Mining and Construction Workers’ Union, for comment. he was unavailable. Employees said that they receive little to no help from him, and suspect that he is getting a ‘brown envelope’ (a bribe or kickback) from the company.
When the Record journalist called CRG’s CEO, Dominic van Wyk, he denied that the business had been closed. “As I have said before, I am not prepared to make any media statement. However, I can say it’s business as usual for us, we are not closed,” he said. When he was asked if he was paying his employees, he refused to comment. Financial Director, Ashwin Naidoo, was also not available for comment.
