The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will stage a march in Pretoria on Thursday, dimming prospects for a swift resolution to a five-and-a-half-week strike at the world’s top three platinum producers.
The announcement came as talks continued between the Amcu and mining firms Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats) and Lonmin under the auspices of a government mediator.
The strike has affected more than 40 percent of global production of platinum, used for making emissions capping catalytic converters in vehicles. South Africa accounts for about 70 percent of global output.
The union and the mining companies remain poles apart on the issue of wages, with the workers demanding a more than doubling of basic entry-level pay to R12 500 a month.
The union said its members would march to the Union Buildings to present a memorandum to President Jacob Zuma, several cabinet ministers, and the “platinum bosses”.
Meanwhile, the Workers Association Union (WAU), a new union at the platinum mines in Rustenburg, planned to meet mining companies to end the strike, secretary Elphas Ngoepe said yesterday.
“We are meeting the three giants, Lonmin, Implats and Amplats, this week Thursday or Friday. We want to present a proposal to rescue the situation,” Ngoepe said.
“Our members want to go back to work. The meeting will discuss how best to achieve that,” he added.
The union was launched in Rustenburg at the weekend.
Ngoepe said the WAU would not seek to negotiate recognition agreements with mining companies, but to ensure its members returned to work.
“We cannot sit back when our members are condemned to hunger by an indefinite strike.”
Ngoepe said his union was apolitical, was not competing with any union, and was not affiliated to any federation. He denied that the union had been formed to defuse Amcu’s strike. – Reuters and Bloomberg