Johannesburg - A senior member of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) had been shot dead in the restive platinum belt town of Marikana, spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said on Friday.
No motive was known for the killing, which occurred near a mine owned by Lonmin, whose Marikana operations lay at the centre of a union turf war last year and where police shot dead 34 striking miners.
The NUM has lost tens of thousands of members in the platinum shafts to the rival Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).
That rivalry cost dozens of lives in 2012 and sporadic killings have continued to occur this year. The NUM official, who has not been named, died as his union lays the groundwork to try to regain its influence in the platinum belt.
NUM is a close ally of the ANC, so this campaign has high political stakes as the ruling party tries to rally support for general elections due next year.
Police spokesman Thulani Ngubane confirmed that a man had been shot dead on Thursday night but also said the reason was unknown.
“He was on his way to the informal settlement that is next to Lonmin. As he was about to pick up his girlfriend, four men opened fire at his vehicle. He got out of the car and he got hit by seven bullets and then died on the scene.”
Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey said the victim had been an NUM shaft chairman at its Western Platinum mine.
Cosatu North West secretary Solly Phetoe said: “Cosatu is shocked because these killings continue even after there was a peace agreement facilitated by the deputy president of the country and all parties were involved.”
Cosatu believed the killings were continuing at Marikana because some organisations were reluctant to sign the peace accord, Phetoe said. “This shows that they were never committed to bringing peace and stability in the area.”
He called on President Jacob Zuma to declare a state of emergency at Marikana because workers were being “killed on a daily basis”.
North West Premier Thandi Modise also condemned the “senseless” killing of union members in the area and said it should not be allowed to continue. Modise said the killings undermined the Marikana Peace Accord and the Framework for Peace and Stability signed early this year.
Earlier this year Lonmin recognised Amcu, which is known for its militancy, as the majority union at its operations.
NUM officials say the union is preparing to try to take members back. This will include a recruiting drive that will focus on what they say is Amcu’s failure to deliver on promises of better pay and conditions.
Retaking the shafts will not be easy as Amcu is claiming successes at top producer Anglo American Platinum (Amplats). Its members ended an 11-day strike on October 11 which cost Amplats R1 billion in lost revenue after the firm said it would give “voluntary separation” packages to 3 300 employees who will be made redundant.
This means they will get more compensation and Amcu also says its pressure helped to make Amplats reduce the job losses from a target of 14 000 as it tries to restore profits.
But tough wage talks are under way and it remains to be seen what Amcu can extract from the platinum firms. – Reuters and Sapa