The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said that workers at Triple M and Newrak would continue striking, while Reagetswe was granted a temporary interdict against the strike action at Impala mine in Rustenburg.

This follows the Labour Court granting Reagetswe Mining Group an interdict preventing Numsa members at the company from embarking on a strike until a final decision was made on the status of the broader strike.

Reagetswe Mining Group, Triple M Mining, and Newrak are contract companies working at Impala Platinum. Numsa wants contracted employees to earn salaries consistent with the wages of permanent workers.

Numsa vowed to return to court at a later date to determine whether this order must be made permanent.

In a statement, Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said: "Numsa has noted the decision of the Labour Court in Johannesburg, which has temporarily interdicted the strike for workers at Reagetswe, to allow the judge to study the arguments and apply her mind before making a final order".

Hlubi-Majola said Reagetswe went to court in a bid to block Numsa from continuing with the strike at Implats, which started on Monday.

"At least four thousand workers, who are exploited by these contractors, are on strike at Impala Platinum mines in Rustenburg in the North West," she said.

On Monday, Numsa members who are on contract embarked on a strike at Implats. The union claims that the workers were being exploited and paid a fraction of what their permanent counterparts were earning.

But Implats countered that the labour problems lay with the three contracting firms.

BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE

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Numsa vows to continue with Implats strike despite Labour Court granting Reagetswe temporary interdict