Rustenburg - Anglo Platinum (Amplats) confirmed on Thursday that it had received a memorandum of demands from striking workers.
“During today (Thursday), Anglo American Platinum's management team in Rustenburg has received a memorandum from a small group of its employees,” the company said in a statement.
“The memorandum is the same as the one received in mid-July at Thembelani and Khuseleka mines.”
It said about 300 Khuseleka employees presented the memorandum to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) two weeks ago.
A hearing on the matter was scheduled for September 25.
The company confirmed that a number of its employees joined a gathering in the Bleskop stadium, in Rustenburg, on Thursday.
“We continue to monitor closely the situation across all of our Rustenburg operations, with a focus on ensuring the continued safety of our people, and will provide further updates as appropriate.”
Mineworkers demanded pay of R16 070 a month at the meeting at the stadium.
This was according to Gaddafi Ndoda, who described himself as a member of a newly-formed workers' committee.
“To us, R12 500 is just a basic salary,” he said, referring to the amount demanded by many mineworkers in past weeks.
“Anglo is the most-paying (sic) mine in the country, so our demand is different from other mineworkers,” said Ndoda.
He said workers were currently not entitled to a safety and transport allowance.
“We want our transport allowance to be R60 daily and (our) safety allowance to be R1500.”
They also wanted their living-out allowance increased to R2000 from R1700.
An “executive committee” of six members, representing workers outside formal union forums, had been formed and it took a memorandum to the mine's management in Klipfontein near the stadium.
Ndoda said workers would gather again on Friday as their strike continued.
“Tomorrow 1/8Friday 3/8 we will go back to the stadium, and we are expecting to be addressed by 1/8expelled ANC Youth League president 3/8 Mr 1/8Julius 3/8 Malema, he was supposed to come today 1/8Thursday 3/8, but he apologised for not being able to come.”
Amplats suspended operations on Wednesday out of concern for the safety of its employees, and said there was no strike at the mine.
Chief executive Chris Griffith said the situation in the Rustenburg area was volatile, and that people who wanted to go to work could not because of threats of violence.
“Anglo American Platinum has decided to suspend its operations in the Rustenburg area with immediate effect,” he said in a statement.
“The suspension will continue until such time as operations can be safely resumed.”
Amplats' chairwoman Cynthia Carroll said on Wednesday that the company was in touch with authorities “at the highest level” to identify ways of working with government and the recognised labour unions to achieve a swift and peaceful resolution.
She said the company's Rustenburg platinum operations were already under financial pressure, and that the suspension of operations risked their long-term viability. - Sapa