Striking miners march to Lonmin

Striking miners gather in Johannesburg to hear an update from Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa on March 27, 2014.

Striking miners gather in Johannesburg to hear an update from Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa on March 27, 2014.

Published Apr 3, 2014

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Johannesburg -

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will continue its campaign for higher wages by marching to Lonmin on Thursday.

Amcu was expected to hand over a memorandum at Lonmin’s offices in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg.

The marches would expand to Parliament after the Easter holidays if the union's demands were not met.

Amcu-affiliated members working in the platinum mining sector have been on strike for over two months, demanding a minimum wage of R12 500 a month.

On March 27, Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said the union had given Amplats until April 5 to respond to the demands.

The labour union marched to Impala Platinum's head office in Illovo, Johannesburg, to hand a memorandum to the company on March 27.

A meeting was held at Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Monday, attended by the producers and Amcu.

On Tuesday, the CCMA said the ongoing strike in the platinum sector would continue following a meeting between employers, Amcu and the CCMA.

Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey said progress to settle the dispute and end the strike could only be made if Amcu moved towards the “settlement zone of nine percent”.

Impala Platinum spokesman Johan Theron said in a statement the parties were still far apart following the meeting.

Amcu members at Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum downed tools on January 23 to push for a basic monthly salary of R12 500. They had so far rejected a wage increase of up to nine percent.

The companies, in turn, rejected Amcu's revised demand that the R12 500 could be achieved over four years.

Last week, mining bosses said the strike had caused irreparable harm, and caused loss of an estimated R10-billion in revenue. - Sapa

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