Miner’s death saddens Amplats

File photo: Alexander Joe

File photo: Alexander Joe

Published May 22, 2014

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Rustenburg - Anglo American Platinum on Thursday condemned the killing of one of its employees at the Sondela informal settlement near Rustenburg, North West.

“We express our sincerest sympathy and extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased,” Amplats CEO Chris Griffith said in a statement.

“We will continue to work closely with the SA Police Services to ensure that those responsible for this act will be brought to justice.”

Amplats could not confirm which union the mineworker was affiliated to and said investigations continued.

It condemned all acts of intimidation and violence while it recognised employees' right to strike.

Amplats said those employees who wanted to work should be allowed to do so.

Earlier, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) branch chairman at Amplats' Union mine in Limpopo, Steve Modimokwane said one of their members, who is from Mozambique was killed.

Felix Manjate was one of the NUM members who returned to work last week, despite strikers threatening him not to.

Manjate was the first NUM member at Amplats's Limpopo operation to be killed. Others were beaten but survived, he said.

Four NUM members were killed near Lonmin's mines in Marikana, North West, on May 11.

“We are sick and tired of these continuing killings of our members. We are appealing to our government to do something about these killings,” said Modimokwane.

“The NUM is alarmed at the situation in the platinum mines and its escalating violence has been allowed to continue unabated by the law enforcement agencies and the mine security in the platinum belt.”

The union maintained that violent strikes were unnecessary and should never be allowed to replace dialogue.

Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at Lonmin, Impala Platinum, and Amplats in North West and Limpopo went on a protected strike on January 23 demanding a basic salary of R12,500 per month.

They rejected the companies' offer that would bring their cash remuneration to R12,500 by July 2017.

Talks facilitated by the labour court in a bid to end the strike continued at an undisclosed location in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Sapa

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