Pretoria - Striking workers at Anglo American Platinum mines in Rustenburg have vowed to keep operations there shut for the next two weeks.
This follows the forced shutdown of the company’s Rustenburg operations due to an illegal strike by its workers at various shafts. The workers on Thursday accused the mining company of ignoring their grievances despite knowing about them since July.
Thousands of workers gathered at the Bleskop Stadium outside Rustenburg on Thursday.
They insisted that they would not return to work before their demand for a R14 500 basic pay had been met.
Their demands also include an improvement in their working conditions and various allowances, which they claim would have to be agreed on before they return to work.
The R14 500 includes allowances for meals, transport and accommodation. They said they had been underpaid by the mines for these for years.
Addressing the protesting crowd on Thursday, leaders called for all workers in Rustenburg mines to down tools in solidarity with the strikers at Anglo American Platinum and Marikana.
Evans Ramokga, one of the mineworkers’ leaders, showed the workers a memorandum he claimed had been handed to Anglo management earlier this year. This was to prove that Anglo had known all along about the miners’ grievances but had chosen to agree wage deals with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), he said.
“We are shocked by Anglo’s comments in the media that we are not its employees and that its workers want to go to work. Why are we here then? This memorandum was signed by the company bosses when they received it.
“We held about six meetings where our demands for R16 070 were made and acknowledged. That is what has caused this strike. They know that very well,” Ramokga said.
The number of workers joining the strike appeared to have increased on Thursday. The miners committed themselves to a peaceful strike, saying there would not be any bloodshed as with the Lonmin strike. The workers said they were planning mass solidarity action with striking workers at Lonmin, meant to bring the platinum mining industry to a standstill.
Mametlwe Sebei, a member of the Democratic Socialist Movement co-ordinating the Rustenburg strikes, urged workers not to be intimidated by threats of dismissals. Anglo American Platinum said on Tuesday its workers were being threatened with violence if they did report to work
.
Pretoria News