By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa—Just today, thousands of South African miners made a vow to cripple the country’s mining industry while also bringing the country’s platinum production to a halt. This is especially crucial—as South Africa is the world’s top platinum producer.
This labor unrest has spread throughout the gold and platinum-producing regions of South Africa after law enforcement officers killed 34 miners while attempting to stop a violent, illegal strike held by miners demanding higher wages. Julius Malema, the former leader for the African National Congress Youth League, demanded that this strike continue until the wages for all miners are increased to at least $1,500 a month. This raise would be approximately double or triple what miners bring to the table now.
The company Anglo American Platinum, which produces about 40% of the world’s platinum, announced just yesterday that it would be shutting down its operations near the town of Marikana—where the above-mentioned killings took place—because of threats received against its workers. In a statement to the press, the company said, “In light of the current volatile situation in the Rustenburg area, where our employees, who want to go to work, are being prevented from doing so and are being intimidated by the threat of violence, Anglo American Platinum has decided to suspend its operations.”
Many of the strikers participating in this unrest were members of a radical breakaway union that was deeply dissatisfied with South Africa’s largest union, the National Union of Mineworkers. Even though this strike has been detrimental to mining companies, it has not done much damage to the overall economy of South Africa. The country’s stock market and currency have not struggled as a result of the strikes.
Although the country has not yet faced too much economic strife because of these events, the strikes reflect other problems that South Africa is up against. These problems include: the highest level of inequality of any large economy; jobless rates that reach 50% among young blacks; and finally an education system that sends out graduates who are not prepared for the jobs that the country has available.
Frans Cronje, an analyst for the South African Institute of Race Relations, noted, “The corporate world does not yet realize the seriousness of the social and economic inequalities that confront the country.”
As of today, 45 people have died since the strike began. As the strikes continue, some have begun to feel that the best way to approach this issue is to start negotiating.
For further information, please see:
Mining.com – Labour Leader Calls S.A. Workers to ‘Bring Mining Companies to Their Knees’ – 13 September 2012
The New Age – Strikers Vow to Cripple Mining Industry – 13 September 2012
The Globe and Mail – World’s Largest Platinum Producer Shuts Rustenberg Mines – 12 September 2012
The New York Times – South African Unrest in Mining Deepens – 12 September 2012
