Johannesburg - Law enforcement agencies must prioritise the area surrounding Lonmin's Marikana mine in Rustenburg, North West, Cosatu said on Tuesday.
“Our members are victimised each and every day,” Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) Gauteng secretary Dumisani Dakile told reporters in Johannesburg.
Operations at the platinum mine were suspended on Tuesday morning, Lonmin said.
“We can confirm there is a stoppage. Workers arrived for work, but did not go underground. The reason for them not going underground is unclear,” said spokeswoman Sue Vey.
Dakile said Cosatu was concerned about security in the area and called on the State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele to ensure the situation was under control.
“They must be able to deploy all necessary resources to make sure that particular area remains calm and no one is injured and no one is killed...”
Earlier, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) regional co-ordinator Mxhasi Sithethi said the situation was tense at the mine.
“People are singing outside our office, demanding the closure of the NUM office...”
He said the protesters were members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).
The NUM and Amcu have been fighting for control of the mines in the area since last year.
It was not clear whether the protest on Tuesday was related to the death of an Amcu official at the weekend.
Amcu North West regional organiser Mawethu Steven was shot dead by four men at a tavern in Photsaneng, in the informal settlement of Nkaneng, on Saturday.
On Monday, Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa appealed for “calm” in the platinum belt following the shooting.
“We would like to call on all our members during this difficult and emotional time to remain calm and allow the law to take its course,” he said.
Twin brothers were also shot dead at Nkaneng, in Wonderkop, on Saturday.
Sithethi said one of them was an NUM shopsteward.
North West police said the brothers were shot dead by a group of armed men draped in blankets and wearing balaclavas.
The group stormed into a shack on Saturday night and asked them the whereabouts of another man, who was not identified.
The brothers were shot when they said they did not know the man.
“The one brother, who was shot two times, died on the scene, while the other brother died on arrival at the Andrew Saffy (Memorial) Hospital,” Brigadier Thulani Ngubani said at the time.
Two women, who were in the shack at the time, were wounded.
One was shot in the thigh, and the other was hacked with a panga. They were taken to hospital and discharged on Sunday. - Sapa