The mass dismissal of striking workers at Anglo American Platinum mines in Rustenburg was not helping to resolve the strike, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Tuesday.
“In as much as Cosatu is aware that the strike is unprotected, Cosatu still believes that there is room for further negotiations to resolve the strike,” said North West provincial secretary Solly Phetoe.
“Interdicts and dismissals are not the way to go. We want to urge the mine bosses to withdraw those dismissals and engage further, to find a way of resolving the strikes with minimum loss of jobs that our economy needs.”
Phetoe pleaded for calm during the strike and urged workers not to use violence.
“We want to be on record that the current situation was created by the mine bosses themselves, so they should help us to resolve the crisis we are in and stop dismissing workers by sms or in public.”
He said the mines had until October 27 to reinstate all the workers who were dismissed informally.
“If they fail to do that the federation will be outlining its program of action to deal with the mining industry as whole.”
The strike at Amplats continued on Tuesday.
“We are still on strike, we are not giving in,” said Gaddafhi Mdoda, member of the Rustenburg Strike Co-ordinating Committee.
“We have a meeting today (Tuesday) thereafter we are going to apply for a permit to hold a memorial service at Bleskop Stadium.”
He said if they failed to secure Bleskop stadium, they intended to hold the memorial service at the hill near Nkaneng, where a man was shot dead, allegedly by the police.
“We are going to hold a memorial service on Wednesday, whether we have a permit or not,” he said.
Mdoda said the worker was shot dead on October 4, after strikers had gathered on the hill and police used stun grenades, rubber bullets and teargas to disperse them.
Amplats workers went on a wildcat strike on September 12, demanding a monthly salary of R16,000.
The mine fired 12,000 workers earlier this month after they failed to attend disciplinary hearings. - Sapa