RUSTENBURG — Some striking workers at Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats) Rustenburg mines refused to return to work on Tuesday despite an offer by the company to reinstate 12,000 men sacked for taking part in a six-week wildcat walkout.

Months of labour unrest in the mines have hit platinum and gold output, threatened growth in Africa’s biggest economy and drawn criticism of President Jacob Zuma for his handling of the most damaging strikes since the end of apartheid in 1994.

However, the number of strikes has dropped in the last two weeks amid management threats of mass dismissals and some payment sweeteners.

At Amplats’ Thembelani mine near Rustenburg, 120km northwest of Johannesburg, hundreds of miners barricaded a road to one of the shafts with burning tyres.

“No one is at work today unless they snuck in,” Mayford Mjuza, a worker representative, told Reuters as a police helicopter hovered nearby.

Amplats, the world’s biggest producer of the precious metal, said it was still gathering details on attendance at its four strike-hit Rustenburg mines.

The company said last week it had reached a deal with several unions and would be offering sweeteners such as a one-off hardship payment of 2,000 rand to end a strike that has crippled production.

A return to work on Tuesday was one of the conditions attached to the deal.

However, workers at Thembelani said they were determined to stay away until Amplats matched a salary increase of up to 22% offered by rival Lonmin after a violent wildcat walkout at its nearby Marikana platinum mine in August.

The Lonmin offer came in the wake of the police killing of 34 miners on Aug. 16, the bloodiest security incident since apartheid.

MacDonald Motsaathebe, who has been with Amplats for 12 years, said workers did not agree to the deal struck at the weekend between Amplats and unions including the National Union of Mineworkers.

“We didn’t agree to the offer. We want 16,000 rand. Lonmin miners got it, and we want it,” said the 35-year-old, whose salary supports nine people. “We earn peanuts.”

Workers are expected to meet later on Tuesday.

While the situation at Amplats has yet to be resolved, tensions at other mining companies have eased.

Striking workers at gold firms including AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields returned to work last week after threats of mass dismissals and an offer of a small pay increase.

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Thu May 23 06:34:35 SAST 2013 ::

Oct 30, 2012

Papage

It says the salries have increased by 20.8% and in Rands money it reads the begginers will at liest earn R5000 and those who have been employed already will now earn between R5000 and R6000. The question is, if the increase in salries is 20.8%, how mush were these people paid before? this to me is an insult to the workers and the Union that agreed to this nonsense must be ashamed of themselves, what will these workers do with the R5000 in this day and age? what will they buy, send home? It is a disgrace, the Mining Management and owners must look at themselves and ask themselves, are we doing justice to the God's people, Are we been fair to them, if not they must change their attitute and pay these workers what they work for. Peace Ma Afrika.
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Oct 30, 2012

Mosquer

Tloga moo!!! O nyaka go nwa bjala ka tšhelete yeo. Ga go na support ya nine ya batho ba selo mo
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Oct 31, 2012

Mrazane

This is really a messed up situation because on the one hand I fully agree with Papage our mineworkers are seriously exploited if after a 20% increase you end up with R5000, how many peanuts were you earning? R4000 for back breaking work, in dangerous conditions.

The mines have exploited people for too long and chickens have come home to roost. Amplats has been trying but it is clearly too little too late.

Having said that the damage to the economy is immeasurable and as such a real solution needs to be found, it is likely that the mines will be retrenching en mass in the next 18 months and that will leave thousands who are dependent on the mines, destitute.

@Mosquer a lot of the guys in the mines support huge familes, family members have died and left children those surviving are taken care of by uncles working in the mines. I do a lot of work in the mines and hear the stories of how and why people travel so far to come and work in the mines. Yes there are those who drink their money away, but the majority of those men take care of their business and some more.
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