Johannesburg - The Workers and Socialist Party (Wasp) is planning a sympathy strike in an attempt to show solidarity with the five-month Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) wage strike in the platinum belt.
Wasp expected to rope in the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) in the general strike aimed at showing the strength of the working class, Liv Shange, Wasp’s deputy general secretary, said yesterday.
“We call on Amcu and Numsa, who are in the forefront of the fight of workers, to mobilise for a general strike in defence of the platinum workers,” Shange said. Wasp said it was time for the country to consider nationalising mines
Swedish-born Shange was outraged by “reckless” accusations made by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe on Sunday. He said there were white foreigners interfering in the ongoing strike and that those who were advising the union at the wage talks which collapsed on Monday were destabilising the economy.
Shange said Wasp was not advising Amcu nor did it have a formal relationship with the union. She said that Mantashe’s comments exposed the platinum strike as a class battle.
Wasp’s role was limited to supporting strikers in their struggle for a living wage.
Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi announced he was withdrawing from the talks on Tuesday, and called for the amendment of the law to make it possible for the government to break deadlocks in wage disputes.
Shange said this would be divisive and break the only weapon that the employees had to fight for better wages.
Wasp was formed in 2012 shortly before 34 mineworkers were shot dead at Marikana in Rustenburg by police at a time when miners first demanded the R12 500 basic wage.