[miningmx.com] – A PROTEST involving 2,400 workers at Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) Thembelani shaft in Rustenburg has taken the gloss off progress at a government-convened summit in Pretoria today aimed at quelling mine violence and labour relations instability.
Amplats said in a statement this afternoon that 2,400 workers were being prevented from exiting underground by a group of employees. “We confirm that this is as a result of the suspension of four shop stewards for inappropriate behaviour which is against our behavioural procedure,” it said.
“Our protection services teams are on the ground attending to the situation. Management is currently engaging with recognised Unions at regional and at head office levels to resolve the situation,” Amplats said.
It added there would be “zero tolerance to any illegal actions” which include intimidation, threats of violence and assault.
“Any employee who instigates or participates in any of the illegal activities is reminded that the company will not hesitate to take the appropriate measures and employees will be subjected to disciplinary action which could lead to dismissal.”
News agency AFP reported earlier that up to 4,000 workers had refused to return to surface at the shaft following completion of the night shift at about 4am this morning.
According to the news agency, members of the Associated Mineworker and Construction Union (AMCU) are disputing the suspension of four colleagues who were implicated in fraudulent membership applications.
About eight members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) were similarly suspended last week by Lonmin for the same practice. In both cases the two unions are attempting to inflate their numbers.
It’s exactly this antagonism that the South African government, led by deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, unions and the Chamber of Mines wanted to address in a crucial summit today in Pretoria.
Mike Teke, deputy president of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, said that there had been an agreement to reconvene on June 26 when parties representing business, government and unions would sign a document which set down a framework for more peaceful labour relations.
“It’s not a fluffy document; it has meat on it,” said Teke. It sets down a framework for the stability on the mines and the safety of miners,” he said.
According to Nomura International strategist Peter Attard Montalto, however, the pact excluded any commitment by the parties to avoid a strike. Said Teke: “We did not speak about specific strikes at specific mines, not at all”.
“Overall its clearly not a bad thing to have this and the process has stalled AMCU’s Lonmin recognition strike for now at least, but we had similar agreements after Marikana and again in February to minimal effect and there is nothing here really to alter the situation in my view,” said Attard Montalto.
This echoes the view of Peter Leon, head of mining at Webber Wentzel who told BDLive yesterday that while the government acted swiftly to appoint the Farlam Commission into the Markikana shootings in August last year, an inter-ministerial investigation into mine violence that was commissioned around the same time had “gone nowhere”.
Montalto said the summit was “a stalling exercise to hold the situation down until after the election” next year. It will be at that point that significant losses in the platinum sector would be registered, he said.
Earlier today, Motlanthe declared no stone would be unturned in an effort to resolve the on-mine relationships between unions and employers.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Motlanthe said: “Instead of pulling a bad tooth, one must first treat the abscess”, adding that he was optimistic the parties would reach a solution. “We will pull together all loose strands, and I am optimistic we will find each other and agree on the issues affecting the industry,” he said.
