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| Africa Subsaharan | ||||
| Protest spreading to more South African mines | ||||
| 2012-09-14 | ||||
Protesting South African miners have blocked access to shafts of platinum company Amplats as officials sought to prevent the widening strike movement from turning into a nationwide revolt.
On Tuesday night, at the world's largest platinum producer, Amplats, about a thousand workers confronted security. Workers "were unable to clock in for night shift due to fear of intimidation and threats by unidentified individuals in and around our Rustenburg operations", Amplats spokesman Mpumi Sithole said in a statement. Workers at Gold Fields' Beatrix gold mine, close to Johannesburg, were also due to join the strike later this week, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday. At least 45 people have died - including 34 in a police shooting last month which has been described as the worst case of police violence since the end of apartheid - since a strike over pay was launched at the Marikana mine. The site is run by Lonmin, the world's third biggest platinum producer, and workers there have yet to reach a deal with management and return to work. Amplats said it had halted work at its four Rustenburg mines, which account for 17 per cent of its output, due to fears for the safety of its 19,000 staff there. Amplats's Rustenburg shafts have been under pressure since platinum prices collapsed after the 2008 financial crisis.
Tensions have been high at the mine, where workers refuse to return to work since striking on August 10 unless the world's number three platinum producer bows to demands for a wage increase to $1,526.
Wage talks between the management and workers in Marikana, meanwhile, are in danger of breaking down, religion-based mediation group Bench Marks Foundation said.
[Julius] Malema took up the workers' call, urging employees at Gold Fields to strike for five days every month until their demands were met. "This is a serious revolution, don't give up!" Malema told a cheering crowd of around 3,000 at a stadium in Carletonville, west of Johannesburg. "You must render the mines ungovernable." He accused the NUM of being aligned with the country's political elite. "There must be a national strike. They have been stealing this gold from you. Now it is your turn. You want your piece of gold. These people are making billions from these mines," Malema said. Malema was expelled earlier this year by the ruling ANC party for ill-discpline. He has since been a vocal critic of President Jacob Zuma, who belongs to the ANC. Once a staunch supporter of Zuma before a fallout as the party's youth leader, Malema has stated he wants to see the head of state removed from the ANC leadership at forthcoming party elections in December. The winner of the vote will automatically become the ANC candidate for the 2014 presidential elections and likely be South Africa's next president. | ||||
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #3 Glenmore, you are correct that the majority of the platinum 'demand' has fallen due to the downturn of the automotive industry (here in the good ol' catalytic convertin' USA anyway). More supply, less demand = lower prices. Funny how that evil capitalism works. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2012-09-14 15:36 |
| #2 but platinum collapsed? I'll never understand money. tw, if platinum prices actually have collapsed (and I have not checked), it could be because a major (the largest?) customer is the auto industry, for catalytic converters, and car sales have collapsed. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-09-14 08:52 |
| #1 Melema is a fellow to watch very, very carefully. The mines that have been nationalized (like the farms in Zim) have been allowed to go to ruin and have limited productivity. If not stopped, Melema will likely ride the current mine crisis to power using classic Shakan tactics. The losers in all of this will be the western mine owners, tribal people who fail to follow Malema, and of course the dreaded whites. That western backed one man, one vote, (one party) "democracy" isn't quite working out as well as expected. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-09-14 04:42 |