This year collective industrial action has probably resulted in more deaths, injuries and financial losses than any other since 1994. Here are some facts and figures:
What is driving the strikes?
It boils down to wages. Miners and the unions felt that the wages did not adequately cover the dangers of working underground.
There are also accusations that the mining strikes are politically motivated and are aimed at destabilising Cosatu’s influence at Mangaung in December.
The trucking sector unions are demanding a 12 percent increase across the board, while the employers have hovered around the 8 percent mark.
A long-distance truck driver earns about R1 400 a week, which means they would get an extra R168 a week if the unions’ demands were met.
Truck unions have said they are not willing to settle for anything less than 10 percent.
Which unions are involved?
Four unions are involved in the truck drivers’ strike, led by the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu).
The other unions are the Professional Transport and Allied Workers Union of SA (PTAWU), the Motor Transport Workers Union (MTWU) and the Transport and Allied Workers Union of SA (Tawusa).
Although Satawu and Tawusa have similar names, they are separate unions.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) are involved in the mining industry and have clashed over recent months over bargaining rights.
Amcu was formed when some miners broke away from NUM and registered the union as their own entity in 2001.
How many people are on strike?
The conservative estimate is about 48 000 people on strike across SA. But some reports have suggested that the number could total more than 100 000.
Satawu said it had 28 000 members, not all of whom had gone on strike.
The union estimated that 20 000 of its members were actively striking - 5 000 based in Gauteng.
NUM said about 28 000 miners were on strike, but this figure included the 12 000 employees who were fired at the Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) mine in Rustenburg a week ago.
The union estimated that 60 percent of SA’s mining industry was currently experiencing strikes.
How many people have been killed or hurt in the strikes?
Forty-five people were killed in the Marikana violence alone.
NUM estimates that 205 miners have been killed in unrest so far this year.
On Monday, assistant truck driver Gary Stewart became the first fatality of the truck drivers’ strike.
Stewart was hit by a brick thrown through the windscreen of his truck near Cape Town International Airport.
Meanwhile the number of injured truck drivers and passengers stood at 23 yesterday in Ekurhuleni alone, while 42 trucks have been attacked in the same region as of October 9.
How do the strikes affect the public?
Retailers have felt the pinch of disrupted deliveries, with reports of ATMs running out of cash, low stock at major supermarkets and petrol running out at some stations because of the truck drivers’ strike
, although this is a constantly changing situation and may not affect the same retailers every day. A third of petrol stations in Gauteng are experiencing shortages at any given time.
Petrol and food prices are likely to rise following the strikes.
Economist Dawie Roodt said fruit and vegetable prices were expected to remain fairly stable as they were produced locally, but grain was likely to increase in cost as some of it was imported.
This would probably affect meat prices, as the animals are largely fed on grain.
Roodt and another economist, Mike Schussler, both expect an increase of between 10c and 20c in the price of petrol, whereas the outlook before the strike was that petrol would see a decrease of 10-15c.
Other commonly imported food, such as canned tuna, would also see a price spike, said Clif Johnston, the head of the SA National Consumers’ Union.
Any increase in truck drivers’ wages would also eventually find its way into a price increase for consumer goods, said Johnston.
What action has been taken?
Two court interdicts have been granted by the Johannesburg Labour Court which prevent any public disorder or violence, or the threat of such action.
This includes any damage to property or obstructing the flow of traffic on any road. However, the interdicts make no mention of the consequences of union members breaking these rules.
Violence towards non-striking truck drivers has continued despite the interdicts, the first of which was granted on September 28 and the second on October 5.
The trucking unions have condemned the violence and have called on their members to refrain from intimidating non-strikers.
The mining companies have taken different approaches. Amplats fired 12 000 of its workers last week after they failed to report to disciplinary hearings regarding their strike.
Two other mines, Gold One on the West Rand and Bokoni Platinum in Limpopo, have followed suit and axed workers.
How long is it going to last?
There is no end in sight as negotiations between Satawu and the employers broke down for a third time last week.
Although they are said to be only a percentage point or two apart on the offer, relations between the two groups appear to be tense. The Road Freight Employees Association (RFEA) claimed last week that Satawu went back on an “in-principle” agreement to end the strikes, while Satawu has said some of the employers’ conditions are cause for concern.
The unrest in the mining sector is unlikely to end soon.
What is the financial cost of the strikes?
The rand’s three-and-a-half-year low would normally be good for exports, but the country will most likely be hit with a double-whammy as we are no longer exporting metals and minerals at the rate that the mines normally produce.
Satawu has also applied for a secondary strike at the ports, to restrict the movement of goods leaving or entering the country. The miners have lost their wages while striking, which runs into thousands of rand per worker.
NUM said the miners were “already living just above the breadline” and can’t afford to lose this much money.
The union also said that the longer the strikes continued, the larger the impact would be on the country’s unemployment.
Major retrenchments could follow if the mines are unable to resume operations in the near future.
Ongoing strikes could also cause foreign investors to lose confidence in the country.
What could end it?
It’s a “power-play” situation, according to labour law experts. Either the parties come to an agreement, or one party caves in and agrees to the demands of the other.
It depends on who holds the most power at a particular time.
In some cases, the mines appear to have given in to demands despite their claims that it will damage their finances, while others have fired workers for illegal strikes.
The strikes in numbers
60 percent- The number of mines that are experiencing strikes at the moment, according to the National Union of Mineworkers.
80 percent- SA’s market share in the supply of platinum worldwide. Russia is the next biggest supplier.
18.6 percent- The amount of SA’s GDP made up by the mining industry, according to the Chamber of Mines.
0.3 percent- The estimated loss in SA’s GDP due to strikes in the mining sector.
$1 397.20- The price of platinum per troy ounce (31.1g) on August 15, the day before the Marikana shootings.
$1 677- The price for the same amount of platinum as of yesterday.
120 000 ton s - Daily loss of the finished iron ore product during a strike at the Sishen Iron Ore Company in the Northern Cape.
$2.5 trillion- Estimated value of SA’s unmined mineral reserves, according to a 2010 Citigroup report.
48 000- The total number of strikers, estimated by the mining and freight unions.
R168- The increase the long-distance drivers are demanding per week.
R1.2m- The road freight industry’s weekly loss while employees striked, according to economist Mike Schussler.
R8.93- The exchange rate against the dollar on October 9, a three-and-a-half-year low. The rand has weakened against the dollar on a daily basis since September 27.
10-20c- The estimated increase in the petrol price following delivery disruptions and strike action in the freight industry.
The Star