The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has warned that nearly 1,800 workers at Petra Diamonds’ Finsch and Cullinan diamond mines in South Africa are at risk of losing their jobs. The union on Sunday condemned Petra’s move to place Finsch under business rescue and to issue a Section 189A retrenchment notice at Cullinan, framing the cuts as a transfer of risk from shareholders and executives to the workforce.
NUM chief negotiator Masibulele Naki said the union “vehemently rejects any attempt to place the burden of business challenges on workers” and called on the government to convene a multi-stakeholder intervention to safeguard jobs and investment.
NUM Flags Nearly 1,800 Jobs in the Balance at Two Diamond Mines
The NUM’s June 14 statement put the combined toll at about 1,800 livelihoods. The union said the business rescue process at Finsch, in Kimberley, had placed roughly 689 workers in a state of uncertainty, while the Section 189A notice at the Cullinan Diamond Mine threatened the jobs of approximately 1,090 workers.
Both numbers are presented by the union as the count of positions at risk. The actual number of jobs ultimately cut will be set by the business rescue plan at Finsch and the consultation outcome at Cullinan. The figures also form the basis for the union’s call for a multi-ministerial intervention.
The union cast the cuts as a continuation of a sectoral pattern it has watched spread through South African mining. “Retrenchments and business rescue processes are increasingly used as the first option rather than the last resort,” Naki said. The framing places the cost of an industry downturn on the people at the bottom of the payroll, while a boardroom and a balance sheet sit above them.
Key figures in the Petra Diamonds restructuring:
- 689 workers at Finsch facing uncertainty under business rescue
- 1,090 workers at Cullinan facing a Section 189A process
- About 1,800 livelihoods the NUM says are at risk across both mines
- ~$81/ct average Cullinan tender price for April and May
- ~$47/ct average Finsch tender price for April and May
Finsch Goes Into Business Rescue, Cullinan Under Section 189A
The two operations now sit on different legal tracks. At Finsch, business rescue practitioners Daniel Theodorus van Jaarsveld and Luke Bernard Saffy have taken custodianship of the mine and will draft a Finsch-specific business plan for creditors to vote on. Petra said in a June 10 update that production at Finsch was being suspended “pending the completion of the Finsch-specific business plan” by the practitioners.
At Cullinan, Petra has launched a Section 189A process under the Labour Relations Act, a formal consultation route that requires the company to engage unions and explore alternatives before retrenchments can proceed. Petra’s CEO Vivek Gadodia framed both moves as steps to protect the wider group, saying the company had decided on the business rescue “in order to protect the overall business” while the rest of the group was being restructured. The two operations have different legal mechanisms, different time horizons and different sets of decision-makers, and the Cullinan process in particular opens a window of mandatory consultation before any final retrenchment figure is set.
| Mine | Process | Workers at risk | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finsch | Business rescue | ~689 | Production suspended from June 10 |
| Cullinan | Section 189A | ~1,090 | Consultation process underway |
The Argument Labour Costs Aren’t the Real Driver
The NUM’s response is built on a direct rebuttal of the assumption that wages are the main cost ailing Petra. The union argues that diamond-market moves, currency swings, capital allocation and management decisions are the more material drivers, and that workers should not absorb the consequences.
Workers are not a liability on a balance sheet; they are the creators of value and wealth in the mining industry. Without workers, there is no production, and there is no profit.
Naki, the union’s chief negotiator and national health and safety secretary, set out the framing in the NUM’s June 14 statement. He added that labour cost claims should be challenged because executive remuneration, management decisions, declining investment strategies, market fluctuations and operational inefficiencies “also contribute significantly to the financial position of mining companies.” The union also extended the argument to retrenchment itself, calling it a substitute for structural fixes. “Retrenchments cannot become a business strategy,” Naki said, and the “social cost of retrenchments far outweighs any short-term financial benefit claimed by employers.”
Naki placed the moment inside a wider pattern in South African mining, where business rescue and retrenchment have become routine responses to financial pressure. The framing matters because it shifts the question from how many workers to cut to whether the cuts are the right tool at all.
The Market Forces Petra Says Are Driving the Cuts
Petra’s own case rests on diamond prices and the rand. Gadodia said the company faced an “unprecedentedly weak” diamond market driven by global macro factors and recent Middle East tensions, with the value of smaller-sized diamonds deteriorating and no near-term recovery in sight.
Tender results for April and May produced an average price of about $81 per carat for Cullinan, down from $109 per carat in the third quarter of the 2026 financial year, and about $47 per carat for Finsch, down from $56 per carat over the same comparison period. The company has used the Cullinan-Finsch price gap, and the fact that more than 90% of Finsch’s production is smaller-sized diamonds, to argue Finsch is no longer viable in its current form. The union accepts the price data and challenges the inference drawn from it. Naki pointed to weaker consumer demand, declining rough diamond prices, competition from laboratory-grown diamonds, and exchange-rate volatility between the rand and the US dollar as factors beyond the control of workers.
The labour group also flagged changes at the top of Petra as part of the same picture. The board reached an agreement in May with Juan Kemp to step down as joint-CEO at the end of May, a management transition the union has pointed to as evidence the pressure on the company is not coming from the workforce. Petra has said it is working towards an updated business plan expected by the end of September.
Five Government Departments NUM Wants at the Table
The union has called on five arms of government to step in. The NUM asked the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, the Chief Inspector of Mines, the Minister of Electricity and Energy, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the National Treasury to convene a multi-stakeholder intervention to safeguard jobs and investment at the two mines. The union’s specific asks range from closer monitoring of the consultation processes to measures to secure an affordable energy supply, financial mechanisms to support productive mining assets, and engagement on local beneficiation and downstream industries.
Naki framed the request in direct terms. “Government cannot be a spectator while nearly 1,800 workers and their families face an uncertain future,” he said. “The mining industry remains one of the pillars of our economy, and every effort must be made to preserve jobs, sustain production, and protect communities that depend on mining for their livelihoods.” The union’s call also reflects a structural concern that the mining sector is being asked to absorb the cost of an industry downturn in which it played no part.
- Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and Chief Inspector of Mines: monitor the business rescue and Section 189A processes to protect workers’ rights and safety standards.
- Minister of Electricity and Energy: secure an affordable, reliable, sustainable energy supply, as escalating electricity costs pressure operational sustainability across the industry.
- National Treasury: explore policy and financial mechanisms to preserve productive mining assets and sustain employment during commodity volatility.
- Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition: engage stakeholders to support the South African diamond industry, promote local beneficiation and protect decent work.
What the Workers Have on the Table
The union has signalled it will engage in both processes but not concede the framing. Naki said the NUM will “utilise every legal, organisational and collective bargaining mechanism available” to defend workers during the Finsch business rescue and the Cullinan Section 189A consultation.
The full text of the union’s condemnation of the Petra Diamonds decisions has been published on the NUM website. Petra has said the business rescue process at Finsch and the Section 189A process at Cullinan are the two tracks on which decisions will be made, and that an updated group business plan is expected by the end of September. The wider backdrop, including the rise of laboratory-grown diamonds and pressure on rough prices, is covered in an overview of the 2026 natural diamond market.
The two-track process will set the final headcount at each mine. The union has already set the terms of the political fight, framing the cuts as a transfer of cost rather than a last resort. The 1,800 workers and the communities that depend on them are the parties that have the most to lose, and the least control over the variables that drove the situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is business rescue under South African law?
Business rescue is a formal restructuring procedure under South Africa’s Companies Act, designed to give a financially distressed company temporary protection from its creditors while a rescue plan is drawn up. At Petra’s Finsch mine, the appointed business rescue practitioners are Daniel Theodorus van Jaarsveld and Luke Bernard Saffy, who now hold custodianship of the mine.
What is a Section 189A notice?
A Section 189A notice is a procedural step under the South African Labour Relations Act that an employer must issue before conducting large-scale retrenchments. It triggers a formal consultation process with unions and employees, during which the parties must try to reach agreement on ways to avoid or limit job losses.
How many jobs are at risk at the two mines?
The NUM’s June 14 statement put the figure at roughly 689 workers at Finsch and 1,090 at Cullinan, for a combined tally the union describes as “nearly 1,800” livelihoods. The final number of jobs cut will depend on the business rescue plan drawn up by practitioners at Finsch and the Section 189A consultation outcome at Cullinan, both of which are still in progress.
What is Petra Diamonds saying about the cuts?
Petra’s CEO Vivek Gadodia has described the diamond market as “unprecedentedly weak” and said tender results for April and May produced average prices of about $81 per carat at Cullinan and about $47 per carat at Finsch. The company has said the moves are intended to protect the rest of the group and that an updated business plan is expected by the end of September.
