Latest news with #NUM
Times
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Sir Bill O'Brien obituary: miner and Labour MP who clashed with Scargill
Bill O'Brien went down the mines as a teenager, but it was through opposing the miners' leader Arthur Scargill, not supporting him, that he found his way to Westminster where he served for 22 years as a Labour MP. His first clash with Scargill came in 1976 when he was secretary of the Glasshoughton branch of the National Union of Mineworkers and Scargill was president of the Yorkshire NUM. There was little love lost between the two men, one an old-school Labour pragmatist and the other a militant left-winger, and when Scargill sued the Sheffield Star for libel, O'Brien and a colleague co-operated with the newspaper. Scargill won his case, and at his behest the NUM suspended O'Brien and his colleague from holding office for two years. O'Brien, supported by his branch, challenged the ban in court and won. Seven years later O'Brien clashed with Scargill a second time when Albert Roberts, the veteran Labour MP for the Yorkshire constituency of Normanton, announced his retirement. O'Brien challenged Scargill's man, Henry Daley, for the party's nomination and once again prevailed. O'Brien went on to win the seat in the 1983 general election. Hard-working, single-minded and a dedicated constituency MP, he was re-elected four times and served seven years as an opposition frontbench spokesman. William O'Brien was born in Glasshoughton, a neighbourhood on the edge of Castleford, in 1929, the son of a miner of Irish descent. He was educated at St Joseph's Catholic School in Castleford, but left school at 15 or 16 to become a coalface miner at the local colliery along with three of his four brothers. Almost immediately he joined both the Labour Party and the NUM, and discovered a flair for organising. He became a shop steward at Glasshoughton and was elected to Knottingley urban district council. In 1974 Knottingley became part of Wakefield Metropolitan district council. O'Brien rose to become chair of the new council's finance committee and its deputy leader. He also served as a Wakefield magistrate. He suffered setbacks. In 1973 he challenged Owen Briscoe, a left-winger, for the post of secretary of the NUM's Yorkshire region and lost. But he did manage to earn a degree in education from the University of Leeds in 1978, and in the same year married his second wife, Jean Scofield, a fellow Labour Party member who had grown up in an adjoining street. His first marriage had been short-lived but produced a daughter, Darrel. He treated as his own Jean's two daughters, Kaye and Diane. O'Brien was elected to parliament for Normanton in 1983 with a slender majority of 4,183. The following year Scargill launched the miners' strike that became a protracted trial of strength against Margaret Thatcher's government. O'Brien supported the strike and condemned the government's planned pit closures, but opposed Scargill's methods. The Glasshoughton colliery closed in 1986, not long after the miners' strike ended in defeat, but O'Brien was re-elected with an increased majority of 7,287 the next year. Neil Kinnock, then Labour's leader, swiftly appointed him opposition spokesman on the environment despite the fact that O'Brien had backed Roy Hattersley for the leader's job. After the 1992 election Kinnock's successor, John Smith, made him the opposition spokesman on Northern Ireland. Proudly working class and partial to nights out in the working men's clubs of his constituency, O'Brien was one of 16 members of the so-called Rambo tendency created half in jest by a fellow Labour MP, Joe Ashton, to resist Labour's takeover by far-left and middle-class 'infiltrators and poseurs'. He returned to the back benches when Tony Blair succeeded Smith in 1994, but continued to sit on select committees and to fight hard for his constituents until he stood down at the general election of 2005. He was replaced as Normanton's MP by Ed Balls, who went on to become a cabinet minister under Gordon Brown. By then O'Brien was in his mid-seventies, but he did not retire from public life. He continued to hold authority to account. He served as a school governor and became a champion of local causes including the Pontefract Town Centre Partnership — an alliance of interested parties determined to reverse the town centre's decline — and the Dr Jackson Cancer Fund, created in memory of a local doctor to improve cancer care in mid-Yorkshire. He was knighted in 2010. Alongside 'reading', O'Brien listed 'organising' as one of his two hobbies in his Who's Who entry. He continued to 'organise' well into his nineties. In 2003 he suffered a stroke and spent ten weeks in hospital. Visitors recalled how he campaigned from his bed to have a water fountain installed for their benefit. Sir Bill O'Brien, union activist and politician, was born on January 25, 1929. He died on May 16, 2025, aged 96
News24
10-06-2025
- Business
- News24
‘Mantashe is a liar': Zuma to file perjury case over R40m ex-mine workers' claim
Zuma tells City Press he will file a perjury case against Mantashe, accusing him of lying under oath. Mantashe responded with a crimen injuria charge against Zuma, calling the allegations defamatory. The dispute involves a payout from East Rand Property Mines liquidation in 1999, which mineworkers say was never delivered. Mining rights activist Zakhele Zuma says he plans to lay a perjury charge against Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, accusing him of giving false testimony in a sworn police statement. Zuma alleged that Mantashe, in the police statement, denied claims that he mishandled R40 million owed to former East Rand Property Mines (ERPM) mine workers. 'He lied under oath,' Zuma told City Press. 'This is about accountability, not politics. Instead of addressing the workers' concerns, the minister is using legal tactics to avoid the truth.' Zakhele Zuma WATCH: Ex-mine workers and families accuse Mantashe, NUM of betrayal, demand 'R40m, with interest' Earlier this month, Mantashe opened a crimen injuria case against Zuma at the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria, after Zuma publicly accused him of failing to pay out the R40 million. When the ERPM was liquidated in 1999, at least 4 000 workers were affected. Many had worked deep underground for years, often in unsafe conditions. In the aftermath of the mine's closure, workers say they were told that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), then under the leadership of its general secretary, Mantashe, had received their settlement packages and would invest the money on their behalf. Zuma claims Mantashe assured workers their money would be invested for ten years, but no returns have materialised. Mantashe denied the allegations in an interview with City Press: 'I do not know this man personally, and these claims are false and defamatory. I will pursue legal action because I will not allow my name to be dragged through the mud.' Mantashe further told City Press that he believed Zuma was not acting independently, but is part of a broader political agenda, adding that while he does not know Zuma personally, he sees 'clear political motives' behind the activist's allegations. Mahlatsi Moleya WATCH: Paul Mashatile defends spending millions on overseas trips The core of the dispute concerns mostly elderly, uneducated mineworkers who say they trusted Mantashe's promise that their payout would be managed responsibly—something they say never happened. Both parties now find themselves in a legal battle, with Zuma preparing to charge Mantashe with perjury, while Mantashe continues to press charges for crimen injuria against Zuma.
Spectator
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
The truth about the 1984 miners' strike
On 6 March 1984, I found myself smack-bang in the middle of the largest industrial dispute in post-war history. As the son of a fifth-generation miner whose bedroom window looked out onto Pye Hill Pit in Selston – the remote Nottinghamshire mining village I called home – I couldn't help but be caught up in the miners' strike. And over its 363 days, I watched with bemused anger as a series of nods, winks, slights of hand and outright lies were fashioned into a hard and fast history. On one side we had the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) principled president Arthur Scargill and the striking miners, fighting to save British mining. On the other side, Nottinghamshire's moneygrubbing scabs, intent on murdering Old King Coal – aided by Margaret Thatcher and the rozzers. Admittedly, the media didn't spell it out quite so plainly, but there were enough headlines and emotion-heavy images to make sure we all got the message.
News24
05-06-2025
- Business
- News24
Ex-mine workers and families accuse Mantashe, NUM of betrayal, demand ‘R40m, with interest'
Ex-mine workers and families claim they were promised unpaid wages and severance packages after ERPM's 1999 liquidation but have received nothing. Union leaders, including Gwede Mantashe, pledged to invest the money for 10 years. Victims say they are owed millions and they want it paid with interest. More than two decades after the collapse of the East Rand Proprietary Mines (ERPM), former mine workers and their families are still demanding answers and their money. When the ERPM was liquidated in 1999, at least 4 000 workers were affected. Many had worked deep underground for years, often in unsafe conditions. In the aftermath of the mine's closure, workers say they were told that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), then under the leadership of its general secretary Gwede Mantashe, had received their settlement packages and would invest the money on their behalf. The mine was shut down after years of low productivity and financial strain. In 1998, it went into provisional liquidation and closed permanently the following year. Since then, former workers and their families have been left in limbo. This year, a group of ex-workers started organising under the Land and Minerals Movement, led by Zakhele Zuma. They held meetings, tracked down the paperwork and began pushing for accountability from both the NUM and the department of mineral resources and energy, which Mantashe now leads. Workers claim that at least R40 million was handed over to the NUM, to be invested for 10 years. Now, 25 years later, they say they have not received a cent and believe the money has grown with interest. In the Ramaphosa settlement on Gauteng's East Rand, Paulina Mokwena sits beside her husband, a former drill operator at the mine. He now struggles to walk, a condition she says was caused by injuries he sustained underground. Mahlatsi Moleya 'When the mine closed, Mantashe and the NUM were involved,' she says. 'They said they had the money. Now my husband's dying, and we haven't seen a cent. If he dies without that money, what does that say about justice in this country?' Former mine worker Leonard Maseko remembers the day the liquidators came in. He says it was then that the promises started. We were told Gwede Mantashe and his team had negotiated with the mine bosses. Later, they said the amount was too little and the money would be invested for ten years. Former mine worker Leonard Maseko 'That was more than 20 years ago. The money is there, they say, but Mantashe won't meet with us. No answers. No truth.' Some former mineworkers believe they were deliberately kept in the dark while others allegedly received hush-money payouts. "Hey, give people R2 on the corners,' says Maseko. 'Even Paul Kruger is said to be involved. But how? If the money is still in investments, where is that cash coming from?' Juliet Adam lost both her parents to this fight. Her father, who worked at the mine from 1967, died of TB in 2002. Her mother died years later, still pursuing the unpaid benefits. 'My parents died broke,' Adam says. We couldn't go to university, while others, like Mantashe's children, could. This fight has cost us everything. Timothy Sibisi, who claims he worked as Mantashe's bodyguard before he became the minister of mineral and petroleum resources, says his recent denial of any knowledge about the ERPM mine workers is deeply painful. I used to escort [protect] him every day. He was scared of being killed. I protected him. And now he says he doesn't know us. Timothy Sibisi Sibisi adds: 'It's betrayal, nothing less.' Mahlatsi Moleya Zuma, who leads the Land and Minerals Movement, has become a voice for the families. He says the group believes the outstanding amount is at least R40 million and that it should have grown with interest over the years. 'The figure is based on what former mine workers believe was owed in wages, packages and potential returns,' Zuma explains. We want that R40 million and the interest. We've been patient for 25 years. It's enough. Zakhele Zuma Rumours of secret payouts have only deepened the mistrust. 'We hear that some people were given money under the table, R1 000 here and there,' says Maseko. 'Where's that money coming from if it's all 'invested'?' The affected families say they have written to the NUM, Mantashe's office and the liquidators over the years but have received no proper response. Some say they have even been threatened or discouraged from pursuing the matter. City Press can confirm that documentation exists showing the NUM was involved in the payment arrangements for the funds intended for the mine workers and their families. What remains unclear is how the money was managed and why no payments have been made to workers. Timeline: A long wait for justice 1967: Juliet Adam's father begins work at the ERPM. 1998: ERPM placed under provisional liquidation. 1999: Mine shuts down; about 4 000 workers are affected. Early 2000s: R40 million reportedly handed to the NUM to invest for 10 years. 2017: No payments made; affected families demand transparency from the union. 2025: Workers organise under the Land and Minerals Movement. City Press contacted Mantashe and the NUM for comment. They had not responded by the time of publication. This is a developing story.
IOL News
05-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Mulilo dodges questions over R9. 5 billion battery tender linked to ex-Eskom COO
Both the BBC and NUM raised concerns that Mulilo, chaired by Jan Oberholzer, former Eskom Chief Operating Officer, may have had an unfair advantage. Image: File picture Mulilo Energy, the company recently awarded a multi-billion-rand battery storage contract under South Africa's Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, has dodged IOL's questions regarding concerns over the bidding process. IOL previously reported that the contract, which forms part of the government's efforts to enhance the country's energy security through battery storage, sparked criticism from the Black Business Council (BBC), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and political parties. Both the BBC and NUM raised concerns that Mulilo, chaired by Jan Oberholzer, former Eskom Chief Operating Officer, may have had an unfair advantage. Oberholzer served as Eskom's COO from 2018 until July 2023, a period marked by challenges for the utility, including financial difficulties and worsening load-shedding. "Oberholzer's company had an unfair advantage as he had access to privileged information about Eskom's requirements that other bidders did not have (as an insider)," BBC CEO Kganki Matabane said. Meanwhile, the NUM described the situation as 'a clear case of a revolving door—where an individual transitions from a position of immense public influence at a state-owned entity to a private company that benefits directly from policies and initiatives he once championed.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading What we asked How do you respond to the BBC's claim that Mr. Oberholzer's former Eskom role gave Mulilo an unfair advantage? The NUM says this looks like a 'revolving door' between Eskom and private companies. What is your response? The MK Party has asked for transparency regarding the bidding process. Could you please share how Mulilo ensured fairness and openness? What due diligence did Mulilo perform on its leadership and potential conflicts of interest before bidding for this government contract? What Mulilo answered Mulilo emphasised that the contract was awarded through a government-led process and directed all procurement-related inquiries to the Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) and the Department of Electricity and Energy for comment. "We note the media interest following the announcement that Mulilo has been awarded preferred bidder status for four projects under the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESSIPPPP). "As this was a Government-led process, we encourage that all procurement-related enquiries should be forwarded to the Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) and the Department of Electricity and Energy for comment. "As a South African company deeply committed to our country's energy transition, Mulilo remains focused on delivering solutions that support energy security, create socio-economic value, and accelerate the shift to a sustainable, low-carbon future." Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has reportedly defended the awarding of the tender to Mulilo, saying the process was subjected to 'rigorous legal, technical, and financial due diligence, consistent with national legislation and the prescripts of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, including the objectives of ensuring that public procurement fosters inclusive growth for previously marginalised communities, including women and youth,' the department said, according to Moneyweb. IOL
