JOHANNESBURG – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Saturday said it had sent a senior delegation to address striking workers at the Mooiplaats coal mine – near Witbank – to persuade them to end an illegal strike.

Nearly 200 miners have been on an unprotected strike since Monday, when 178 employees were fired by Coal of Africa Ltd  management.

The dismissed employees were protesting against the suspension of four of their colleagues, who allegedly breached picketing rules and terms of a court interdict during a protected strike at the coal mine in October.

They were given a week to appeal their dismissal.

NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said: “We have sent a delegation to persuade those workers to return to work while we’re engaging management on the possibility of [rehiring] workers that were unfairly dismissed.”

The striking workers make up 48 percent of the mine’s total workforce.