scholarly journals Optimization of shift cycles in the South African mining sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 121 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
J. Pelders ◽  
F. Magweregwede ◽  
S.M. Rupprecht
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Employee Morale ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
The South ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Current Shift ◽  
Night Shifts ◽  
The Ideal

Increased depths of conventional gold and platinum mines, longer travelling times as working places move further from the shaft, and ancillary activities taking place in the mining cycle reduce the useable time spent at the workface. Current shift lengths of 8 hours 20 minutes may no longer be adequate to complete required mining activities.The impact of mineworker commuting times on shift work is also not well understood. The aim of this research was to draft a framework to optimize shift cycles in order to maximize productivity, health, safety, and wellness in the South African mining sector. The framework was informed by a review of the literature, case studies at a local gold mine and platinum mine, and a workshop with industry experts. The findings indicate potential advantages of extended shift lengths and continuous operations, such as improved productivity, asset utilization, and employee morale. However, concerns included fatigue and the associated safety hazards, particularly when working longer shifts, night shifts, and numerous consecutive shifts. Job demands, personal factors, and commuting times are further considerations when scheduling shifts. The ideal shift system for the mining sector should holistically consider and balance operational requirements, health and safety, and employees' and their families' requirements, and suit the unique needs of each operation. Changes in shift cycles will require a structured change management process, which involves all stakeholders, and could help to enhance the viability of the South African mining sector.

scholarly journals THE RELEVANCE AND IMPACT OF SOUTH AFRICAN LABOUR LAW IN THE MINING SECTOR: A FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION PERSPECTIVE

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faheemah Karolia-Hussain ◽  
Elmarie Fourie
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
South African ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The South ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The Impact

The mining sector is one of the contributors to the South African economy and improving productivity is important if it is to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Thus, the technologies that will be created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are important to the mining sector. However, if this leads to mining companies being less reliant on labour, then these changes will have a negative impact on the jobs of mineworkers.This article looks at the legal framework that governs the mining sector in South Africa in the context of 4IR. The Labour Relations Act (LRA) provides for collective bargaining and strike action, but collective bargaining in the South African mining sector is failing and has not produced the desired result. Strike action has become more common and strikes are often violent and unprotected. Secondly, occupational health and safety risks are present in the mines despite protective legislation – namely, the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA). Workers experience harsh working conditions underground. Lastly, workers’ skills need to be developed if they are to retain their jobs in 4IR. In terms of legislation, workers should receive training if such training is available for their sector. Consideration urgently needs to be given to the impact on and relevance of 4IR to the labour legal framework in the mining sector. Furthermore, changes to the law in readiness for 4IR and its impact on the workforce in the mines should be considered.

Evaluation of Labor Agency Strategy: The Case of a Strike at a South African Opencast Mine in 2012

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-369
Author(s):  
John Mashayamombe
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Opencast Mine ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
Platinum Belt ◽  
Wildcat Strike ◽  
Power And Agency ◽  
Labor Conflicts

The South African mining sector has experienced labor conflicts characterized by militancy and violence. Militancy and violence was evident along South Africa’s platinum belt between 2012 and 2014. In the case of Huntington mine, about three hundred workers managed to pull a spectacular strike action when they captured mine equipment and threatened to destroy it if their demands were not met. Drawing together concepts of space, power, and agency, it is argued that the wildcat strike was a failure because power resources were not consolidated and used effectively. As a result, their demands were not met, and they lost their jobs at Huntington mine.

scholarly journals Recent advances in hearing conservation programmes: A systematic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nomfundo F. Moroe ◽  
Katijah Khoza-Shangase
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Hair Cell Regeneration ◽  
The South ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Hearing Conservation ◽  
Recent Advances

Background: Current evidence from low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries, such as South Africa, indicates that occupational noise-induced hearing loss (ONIHL) continues to be a health and safety challenge for the mining industry. There is also evidence of hearing conservation programmes (HCPs) being implemented with limited success.Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore and document current evidence reflecting recent advances in HCPs in order to identify gaps within the South African HCPs.Method: A systematic literature review was conducted in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. Electronic databases including Sage, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus MEDLINE, ProQuest and Google Scholar were searched for potential studies published in English between 2010 and 2019 reporting on recent advances in HCPs within the mining industry.Results: The study findings revealed a number of important recent advances internationally, which require deliberation for possible implementation within the South African HCPs context. These advances have been presented under seven themes: (1) the use of metrics, (2) pharmacological interventions and hair cell regeneration, (3) artificial neural network, (4) audiology assessment measures, (5) noise monitoring advances, (6) conceptual approaches to HCPs and (7) buying quiet.Conclusion: The study findings raise important advances that may have significant implications for HCPs in LAMI countries where ONIHL remains a highly prevalent occupational health challenge. Establishing feasibility and efficacy of these advances in these contexts to ensure contextual relevance and responsiveness is one of the recommendations to facilitate the success of HCPs targets.

scholarly journals Health and safety implementation motivators in the South African construction industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1446253
Author(s):  
Jacobus H.F. van Heerden ◽  
Innocent Musonda ◽  
Chioma S. Okoro ◽  
Amir H. Alavi
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
South African ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The South

Inclusive Dualism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicoli Nattrass ◽  
Jeremy Seekings
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Decent Work ◽  
The South ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Surplus Labour

W. Arthur Lewis, the founding father of development economics, saw developing economies as dualist, that is, characterised by differences in earnings and productivity between and within economic sectors. His famous model of development, in which ‘surplus’ (unemployed and underemployed) labour was drawn out of subsistence activities and into manufacturing, was reflected in the subsequent East Asian development trajectory in which labour was drawn into low-wage, labour-intensive manufacturing, including in clothing production, before shifting into higher-wage work once the supply of surplus labour had dried up. This development strategy has become unfashionable, the concern being that in a globalized world, labour-intensive industry promises little more than an impoverishing ‘race to the bottom’. A strong strand in contemporary development discourse favours the promotion of decent work irrespective of whether surplus labour exists or not. We argue that ‘better work’ policies to ensure health and safety, minimum wages and worker representation are important. Decent work fundamentalism—that is, the promotion of higher wages and labour productivity at the cost of lower-wage job destruction—is a utopian vision with dystopic consequences for countries with high open unemployment, including most of Southern Africa. We show, using the South African clothing industry as a case study, that decent work fundamentalism ignores the benefits of dualism (the co-existence of high- and low-wage firms), resulting in the unnecessary destruction of labour-intensive jobs and the bifurcation of society into highly-paid, high-productivity insiders and unemployed outsiders. The South African case has broader relevance because of the growth in surplus labour—including in its extreme form, open unemployment—across a growing number of African countries. Inclusive dualism, as a development strategy, takes the trade-off between wages and employment seriously, prioritizes labour-intensive job creation and facilitates increased productivity where appropriate, so that jobs are created, not destroyed.

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