Johannesburg - A Lonmin employee has died at the K3 training centre in Marikana in the North West as a result of epilepsy, the company said on Friday.
“One of our employees, a contractor, he had an epileptic fit yesterday (Thursday) morning and unfortunately passed away from that,” spokeswoman Sue Vey said.
Emergency services were called, but the man died.
On Wednesday, employees of Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum, and Lonmin returned to work following the signing of agreements with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union on Tuesday that brought to an end a five-month strike in the platinum mining sector.
In terms of the agreements, which marginally differed according to the companies' respective circumstances, employees returned to work on Wednesday.
The agreements are with effect from July 1 last year for Amplats and Implats, and from October 1, 2013 for Lonmin.
They are valid until June 30, 2016.
Under the deals, employees will receive back pay from the agreement dates until January 22, the day before the strike started. This will be made available within a week of their return to work.
During the strike, the principle of no-work, no-pay applied.
Vey has said that returning workers will have to undergo medicals and retraining before resuming their jobs.
“We also check all work areas, to ensure they are safe, but we have been doing that throughout the strike.
“We will be ready in a couple of weeks,” she said.
The strike, which began on January 23, cost the companies lost revenue of around R24 billion, while workers lost earnings of around R10.7bn, according to the website www.platinumwagenegotiations.co.za.
Amcu had wanted a monthly basic salary of R12,500, which the producers maintained was unaffordable.
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said on Tuesday that in terms of the agreement, entry-level workers would receive increases of up to 18 percent.
“No worker in the platinum sector will earn less than R8000 as a basic salary, which is a breakthrough.... Amcu is committed to make sure R12,500 minimum wage is reached by 2017,” he said. - Sapa