In a media release on Tuesday, NUM said the presidents of the two unions met the day before to discuss the ongoing protected strike, which started on 9 March.
“The leadership of Amcu and the NUM agreed to intensify the strike action through additional protest marches to garner public support and increase pressure on Sibanye-Stillwater. The planned protest action includes protest marches to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the Union Buildings and the head offices of prominent media houses, including the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) for their business-biased reporting and lack of coverage of the strike and the campaign for a better life.
NUM and Amcu also agreed to put further pressure on Sibanye- Stillwater by giving notice of a secondary strike at Sibanye- Stillwater’s platinum operations – where wage talks are currently underway. This will include the Rustenburg and Marikana ope- rations and will involve close to 35,000 workers downing tools,” the statement read.
It is not clear how the intensified strike would affect our area. Amcu’s previous strike in 2018 and 2019 led to various deaths and widespread damage to property and houses, especially in Blybank.
Sibanye-Stillwater noted the two unions’ media release on Wednesday.
“Sibanye-Stillwater respects the rights of employees and the unions to strike but urges the union leadership to reconsider its actions in the interest of striking employees who clearly do not support the strike. This is evidenced by the very low employee participation in protests at picketing sites and the constant resignation of members from Amcu and the NUM,” says Richard Cox, executive vice president of SA Gold Operations.
The mining house says that should the strike continue until the end of April, striking employees would have lost all value they could have gained from a wage increase.
Sibanye-Stillwater has remained steadfast in its opposition to the strikers’ wage demands.
“We will not be coerced into acceding to demands that are not inflation-related, unaffordable and threaten the sustainability of our operations. In this regard, any intensification of the strike by the unions will have no impact on our position of safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders,” Cox said.
