Rise Mzansi to picket over sex-for-jobs scourge in mining and retail sector

Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi will lead a picket at the JSE offices in Sandton on Tuesday, to protest against the sex-for-jobs scourge in the mining and retail sectors.

Zibi said the issue was rife in the private and public sectors, adding that the problem was equal to sexual assault and exploitation.

“The picket at the JSE will call for the institution to acknowledge these heinous practices and to work with listed retail and mining companies to put measures in place to root out the practices run by syndicates,” he said.

“Sex for jobs and cash for jobs are also prevalent in in the public sector, in particular local government, therefore, the memorandum of demands will also be sent to the South African Local Government Association.”

The party said it was committed to rooting out the scourge in the public and the private sector which was why it would be picketing to highlight the plight of young women who were forced to engage in the practice in order to secure jobs.

“Rise Mzansi is committed to working with all private and public sector stakeholders to ensure that South Africans live happy and dignified lives, which includes removing impediments to job seekers. We see this as sexual assault and corruption,” he added.

Last month, Sibanye Stillwater said it was concerned about reports that some members of the Marikana community had been promised jobs in exchange for cash.

Members of the community had alleged that in order to secure a job in the mine, they had been requested to pay anything from R5 000 to R10 000.

However, responding to the allegations at the time, spokesperson for the mining giant, James Wellsted, had said the company did not condone unethical behaviour among its employees, adding that such reports were not company policy but isolated incidents.

“I am sure there are instances where our employees may not behave or comply with our values and ethics, which is disappointing and something we do not condone.

“I was referring to the comment made by an individual and stated in your article: ‘claims that to get a job at the mine required one to have access to money as getting jobs at the mine cost R5 000 to over R10 000’, which in isolation and any other context being provided, could lead to the conclusion that this is normal practice at Sibanye-Stillwater.

“So while we can’t deny that there may be instances of fraudulent or criminal actions which support this perception we strongly contest any suggestions or inferences to the contrary,“ Wellsted had told ‘The Star’.

The Star

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za