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Tuesday, 10th May 2005 (4211 views)

The Competition Tribunal in Pretoria, South Africa heard from lawyers representing Gold Fields yesterday, who said that allowing a hostile takeover by rival Harmony was not in the public interest.<br/><br/>In their closing arguments, the lawyers claimed that a merger could be detrimental to the gold-mining industry and to the 1,500 Gold Fields employees who stand to lose their jobs.<br/><br/>Lawyer Jeremy Guantlett argued that the employees are not "golf playing ornaments" but people, who may not be facing poverty but do not deserve to be dismissed.<br/><br/>"They are human beings. There is no justification for it. There is no rationale," Mr Gauntlett told the tribunal, according to Business Day.<br/><br/>Gold Fields itself is reluctant to comply with the job losses, which would be imposed on them by Harmony in the event of a takeover.<br/><br/>The mining company is asking the tribunal either to disallow the takeover, or impose stringent conditions.<img alt="track" src="http://directnews.dehavilland.co.uk/dn.gif?feedid=196&itemid=8468869"/>

 

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