South Africa seeks mine peace, wage deal may be elusive
RUSTENBURG, South Africa |
RUSTENBURG, South Africa (Reuters) – Feuding South African unions, platinum producer Lonmin and government officials tried on Wednesday to broker a peace accord at a mine where 44 people were killed in the worst such violence since the end of apartheid.
They also want to use the meeting to start wage talks over the dispute that has paralyzed production at Lonmin’s Marikana mine and raised worries of unrest spreading through the country’s platinum sector, further shaking the economy.
Bringing all the parties together to secure a symbolic peace deal could prove successful, but the strike at Lonmin’s Marikana mine, northwest of Johannesburg, may be far tougher to resolve.
“If there is no 12,500 rand ($1,500) a month, no workers will be going back,” Zolisa Bodlani, a representative for the striking workers, said ahead of the meeting.
Strikers say they have sacrificed too much to settle for less than their demands. Lonmin said it had an average 7.7 percent attendance across all shafts on Wednesday morning.
Mining operations at Lonmin, the world’s third largest producer of platinum, have been effectively frozen for more than two weeks due to the labor strife, sending spot prices for the metal up and share prices for Lonmin down.
The 3,000 strikers are mostly rock driller operators, who the company says are paid about 9,800 rand with an average monthly bonus of 1,500 rand.
The killing of miners in the worst security incident since the end of apartheid in 1994 has steeled the resolve of strikers who see their dead comrades as martyrs and feel any compromise will be a sellout.
Thirty-four were
Category: Africa News
