Rumblings of ‘another Marikana’ can and must be averted

Another potentially violent standoff could be brewing, if the salary demands by miners in the platinum sector are anything to go by, but the situation is not beyond saving, according to labour analyst, Michael Bagraim.

The latest grumblings come in the same week that mark the anniversary of two key events in the country’s mining industry – the 10^th anniversary of the Marikana massacre as well as the 100^th anniversary of the Rand Revolt.

Also Read: No honour for fallen 34 Marikana miners, says ex-Marikana miner

During a strike by mineworkers at the then Lonmin Platinum Mine, 34 workers were brutally shot and killed by the police in 2012, while 100 years ago more than 200 people were killed during the 1922 strike.

It is, however, the Marikana massacre, where police officers opened fire on mineworkers who were demanding a R12 500 basic salary, which remains fresh in many people’s minds.

Addressing union members at this week’s 10^th commemoration of the Marikana tragedy, leader of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), Joseph Mathunjwa said the R12 500 striking mineworkers were fighting and killed for in 2012, had long become irrelevant, and that R20 000 should now be the basic income for mineworkers.

Mathunjwa also used the opportunity to call for a change in government.

Mathunjwa said Sibanye-Stillwater, which now owns the then Lonmin mine on Rustenburg’s platinum belt, cannot expect workers to continue earning peanuts while CEO Neal Froneman earns R360 million annually.

It are these calls which have set off alarm bells.

No one trusts anyone

Speaking to The Citizen, Bagraim said one of the biggest problems facing the industry is the high levels of distrust between the employers, employees and government.

“Mineworkers don’t trust mine bosses. On the other hand you also have a situation where trade unions who represent workers, also don’t trust government anymore… You’ll remember what happened when government reneged on their three-year deal with public sector unions.

“The mining industry has no trust in the employers but it’s even worse that trade unions are also distrusting government because they reneged on that three-year wage deal.

“Everyone is discontent, the cost of living just keeps getting higher, and all that mineworkers are trying to do is to keep up with inflation,” said Bagraim.

He said the current workforce is also unable to match the inflation rate, stressing that, should mineworkers decide to down tools, it could be a lengthy and an unpleasant industrial action.

Action needed to avert another Marikana

Bagraim is of the opinion that all parties concerned, need to make use of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), considering their record on wage dispute interventions.

“This is definitely not a good time to be in a dispute, because the mining industry is the backbone of the economy and the minister of labour must step in to avoid a dispute of this nature.

“I recently spoke to someone from the CCMA about the last mine strike in the gold sector which went on for so long until they approached the CCMA, who intervened and settled the dispute within two days. Because of the high levels of distrust, why not bring in the CCMA much earlier,” Bagraim asked.

ALSO READ: Sibanye-Stillwater begins fresh wage talks with striking unions

Workers justified in asking for more money

Meanwhile, mining expert David Van Wyk said considering the cost of living which has risen sharply over the last couple of months, disgruntled workers who are planning to officially demand a R20 000 basic salary in the mining sector, should do that cautiously.

Van Wyk is of the view that workers are justified in their demands.

“Mining companies are all reporting record profits and paying CEOs and senior managers massive bonuses while on the ground the cost of living has increased very significantly.

“However, the levels of unemployment are very high, as companies used Covid as a smokescreen for large scale retrenchment, filling the ranks of the reserve army of unemployed, while ramping up production, and adding to unused stocks of minerals in Switzerland which strengthen their ability to sit out a strike with very little cost to themselves,” he said.

Commenting further on the R20 000 wage demand, Van Wyk said the question, however, is whether the unions can afford a strike and if their members can survive the hunger associated with a prolonged strike.

“I would think the balance of power is with the bosses at the moment and it also depends on whether the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will come to the party,” he said.

Asked further on whether workers would push for industrial action, considering the rising cost of living that’s affecting everyone and in the event they do decide to go on strike, whether we are likely to see similar scenes of violence as what happened in Marikana in 2012, Van Wyk replied:

“Considering the factional war in the ruling party at the moment, and the infantile minister of police, one wonders about the response of the government to such a strike should it take place.

“On the other hand, workers might fear further retrenchments that might follow such a strike, measured exactly against the rising cost of living and mine employment numbers have shrunk significantly over the last decade.”