‘No uptake of Amplats offer yet’

File image: Reuters

File image: Reuters

Published Nov 6, 2012

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The 12,000 miners fired from Anglo American Platinum in Rustenburg had still not taken up the company's reinstatement offer and returned to work, a union said on Tuesday.

“They are not back to work,” said National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) spokesman Lesiba Seshoka.

However, negotiations were still underway on the terms of their return, and attempts to have one of the amounts offered raised, he said.

Comment from the company was not immediately available.

On Monday, the company said it would provide an update, where appropriate, and that its statement from Thursday was still valid.

In that statement, Amplats said its reinstatement offer was strictly subject to all strikers returning to work and doing actual work activities by no later than Tuesday, October 30.

“This offer, which has not yet been accepted by employees, is still open.”

The company had offered a once-off R2000 “hardship allowance” to help workers in financial difficulties due to the no-work, no-pay principle.

Two weeks ago, the platinum producer said it met with unions to facilitate the return of the 12,000 dismissed workers, and those who were on an illegal strike at its Union and Amandelbult mines.

Amplats fired the 12,000 after they failed to appear for a disciplinary hearing. They had been on a wildcat strike since September 12, in demand of a minimum wage of R16,000 a month.

The Amplats offer was made in consultation with the NUM, UASA, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, Solidarity, and a strikers' committee.

On Tuesday the SA Human Rights Commission said it would investigate a report in The New Age that four non-striking workers at the Amandelbult mine were forced to strip naked, apparently by mineworkers who had been on strike, to punish them for reporting for work.

The newspaper published a photograph showing three men and a woman standing naked in front of a crowd.

SAHRC spokesman Isaac Mangena told SAfm: “As the commission, we will be taking up this matter.”

He said: “We have mandated our Limpopo office to take up the matter at the mine and we basically call on the police to investigate this because this is clearly a criminal act.” - Sapa

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