Sacked Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) mineworkers walked to the regional office of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in Rustenburg on Wednesday to cancel their membership.

“We do not want NUM to represent us. They are the stumbling block to re-open the wage negotiation. They must back off,” worker leader Gaddafhi Mdoda said.

“We are at their offices. There is no one here. They have run away. There are thousands of us from four mines and the comrades from Samancor.” 

He said another march to the NUM office would be arranged.

“We have dispersed and we our going to meet at our different shafts to discuss about when are we marching again.” 

Police spokesman Captain Dennis Adriao said the group gathered in the city’s CBD without a permit.

“We explained to them that they need a permit to march. They understood and dispersed peacefully,” he said.

Mdoda said they would not appeal their dismissals.

“We are not going to appeal because we see no reason to appeal.” 

The workers elected a committee to speak for them. They burnt NUM t-shirts at one of the protests at Samancor in Mooi Nooi.

At their meetings they had a box full of membership forms for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), despite claims they had no ties with any union.

Amplats fired 12,000 workers last week. The company said that since the illegal strike started less than 20% of workers had reported for duty.

“Currently four of the company’s mining operations in the Rustenburg area have insufficient staff to operate and only essential services are being carried out at those mines. Our Rustenburg concentrators, smelters and refineries and Bathopele mine continue to operate normally,” the company said in a statement.

The strike had spread to Amplats operations in Limpopo.

“Anglo American Platinum also confirms that the company has begun to experience strike contagion at its Union and Amandelbult [Tumela and Dishaba] operations, where workers have presented memorandums of demands similar to those received in Rustenburg,” Amplats said.

- Sapa

Comments

• Sign in or sign up to comment

Sun May 26 05:03:23 SAST 2013 ::

Oct 10, 2012

cornelius

Thats' right, that's how it works - if you are dissatisfied with your union, you resign your membership and join or form another one - no need for all this violence and illegal strike action.
Report Abuse

Oct 10, 2012

MissBhakajuju

these miners must just f.k off once... we don't need this instability in our country....

Nyambose, pls order your Boys in Blue to s.h.o.ot these hoo.li.ga.ns down !!! nnnx
Report Abuse

Oct 10, 2012

DA-DBN-GUY

You are all unemployed now so you dont need a union.
Report Abuse

Oct 10, 2012

warry

Remember when Cope started!!! Some will blame themselves.
Report Abuse

Oct 10, 2012

Tasto

Qubula zasha !!
Report Abuse

Oct 10, 2012

SPHONZA

MissBhakajuju it is sad that you are able to procreate and very scary that you are actually doing so.
Report Abuse

Oct 10, 2012

sabza007

“We have dispersed and we our going to meet at our different shafts to discuss about when are we marching again.”
......................................................................................................................
Hey Gaddaffi, what kind of dictionary are you using. Which shaft you will be going back to because you were fired ?????? Lack of education and sensible thinking is problematic.
Report Abuse

Oct 10, 2012

Gabha

NUM has been working hand in hand with the employer to oppress the black skin for decades. Not all slave drivers were white.
Report Abuse

Oct 11, 2012

Showerhead

NUM is dead next year they will be talking of about 50000 members and COSATU will follow if it continue with this Zuma support and a new UNION will come up after Mangaung. Vavi if was voted out it could have started by now and the youth league is killing cosatu. ANC will find it hard to win come 2014
Report Abuse

Read all 9 comments