Work to secure Gupta mine funding down to the wire as employees grow desperate
After four months without income, workers at the Optimum and Koornfontein mines are likely to be paid soon
Thursday marked the end of yet another month without salaries for the desperate workers at the Guptas’ Optimum Coal and Koornfontein mines. Lawyer for the business rescue practitioners of the distressed companies Bouwer van Niekerk said they were confident the payments would be made “during the course of next week”. The workers have not been paid since October 2018 and the operations have been idle since December. Persistent legal battles have frustrated attempts to rescue the business. Optimum and Koornfontein, along with six other companies linked to the Gupta family, were placed under business rescue in February 2018 when their banking facilities were withdrawn by the banks. Business rescue is a provision of the Companies Act aimed rehabilitating distressed entities. The rescue essentially requires selling of assets to a new owner, but in this case, the process has been unable to get off the ground as a barrage of legal action has been brought against the business rescue practiti...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.