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SOLIDARITY: Family members and relatives of arrested striking miners at Lonmin mine in Marikana, North West, show their support for the workers during their appearance in the GaRankuwa Magistrate's Court. Photo: PEGGY NKOMO

 Unions' leaders must prevent miners losing more than they have already done. 

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He argued at the weekend that there were "few innocents" in this tragic saga. He is right.

But the persistent problem is that the striking mineworkers suffer from a lack of leadership as rival unions will not swallow their pride and work together for the good of all workers, the mine and the SA economy.

The two unions who should be at the centre of resolving the dispute - the National Union of Mineworkers and the Association of the Mining and Construction Workers Union - seem to have no strategies to resolve this impasse.

The lack of leadership had partly resulted in the miners taking up arms and rejecting pleas from unions to stop protests before the killings.

As the nation waits to see how the issue will be resolved, a call has been made that leaders of the unions should influence the workers to report to work as negotiations over their demands continue.

The poor response from workers indicate one thing: they do not trust their leaders.

Now, it is incumbent on the NUM and Amcu leaders to rise above their narrow political differences and find a solution that will prevent the miners losing more than they have already done.

What is preventing the NUM and Amcu to be part of a collective solution to this problem indicates they are placing political differences over the rights of workers.

Rather than standing for the workers, they are guilty of failing to do their jobs. It is almost as if they too are on a strike.

Marikana has shown us that if left to fester, any long-standing dispute will spiral out of control.

But the management of Lonmin and its shareholders also need to think long-term.

Having had such a protracted strike, can they clearly say it was worth the rands they sought to protect by failing to meet the workers at least halfway with their wage demands?

What about the company's loan obligation it is about to breach if the workers do not return to work? What about productivity losses?

But even after the massacre, and an admission by Ramaphosa that there are few angels in the saga, there does not seem to be a sense of urgency to resolve the problem.

Now, the workers have pinned their hopes on Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant.

We hope she succeeds.

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Thu May 23 19:02:07 SAST 2013 ::

Aug 29, 2012

Danger1985

Firstly you quote Ramahosa saying they were a "few innocents" in this tragic saga. Please clearly elaborate who is "innocent" If he meant the workers I disagree...because all the workers there were innocent and they were practicing their democratic right to go strike as their concerns were not being addressed.
One feels that your article is biased as you seem to have adopted a schema which states that the workers were wrong which is inappropriate. U also suggest that Lonmin think long term and you focus on productivity and u dnt make mention of Lonmin looking into the lives of children who fathers were murdered by the SAPS.
Dissapointing read
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Aug 29, 2012

MommaC

SOWETAN - SORT YOUR BLOODY STUPID WORD NANNY OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Aug 29, 2012

cornelius

Yes, but we can also look just a little further to find out why there is this dicord between the unions and the workers and the unions. Is there perhaps someone who is sowing this discord because he wants to weaken NUM and Cosatu, for his own political reasons ? Why does the image of a fat round face with a beret on top come into my head ?

It is time people are just bold enough to state the truth - Malema and his cronies are to blame for the deaths of these miners. He is the one who encouraged them to ignore the pleas of the unions, and hold out for a salary that is tooh igh for the current economic conditions - for his own purposes, and that is why today their are 34 dead providers of families.
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