South African and International
Press Review (October 9-26, 2012) Even dismissed, the strikers [in
South Africa] are standing firm on their demands AFP, October 9 : «A meeting
between government representatives and the miners
dismissed last week by Anglo American Platinum took place
on October 8. The strikers are demanding pay rises and
are standing firm on their demands, in spite of the
dismissal of twelve thousand of them that was announced
by the world's number one platinum extraction company.
The dismissed strikers have no tintention of abandoning
their fight . . ., they remain determined to continue
their action.» Zuma convenes a «social summit»
... On October 12, the South African
economic and financial daily Business Day reported
that President Zuma «had invited representatives from
the business world, trade unions and civil society to a
meeting to find solutions to the wave of violent strikes
that are threatening economic growth .» The article continued, «Jacob
Zuma stood up forcefully against the violence linked to
the strikes. He stated that although it was a democratic
right of the workers to strike, the culture of deadly
violence against persons, combined with the destruction
of property, was unacceptable.» Not a word, of course, on the police
massacres. Business Day added: «The
president of the COSATU trade union federation, S'dumo
Dlamini, decared that in this meeting 'they had been
informed of the veiwpoint of the international investors
concerning the current situation in the mines.' He
added that, «A call must be made to all South
Africans : yes, we have problems but let us not destroy
our jobs ; we need to clearly demonstrate where the
genuine leaders of the people are; the danger is that the
workers realize too late that Julius Malema has lied to
them.» Business Day reports that the
president of the bosses' association Business Unity, Jabu
Mabuza has declared that «the call from the president
is timely and must be supported; it was good to hear it
said that the violent character of the strikes was
unacceptable».
Five days after the Social Summit,
it is obvious that nothing has been resolved. The strike
is taking root. It is estimated that 100,000 workers are
affected by the strike. Zuma has been forced to reiterate
his call to the «social partners». The Sowetan
of October 17 headlined, «Zuma says to the strikers 'Back
to work now'». It is a call that has no no echo,
despite the violence against the strikers. In the Kumba iron ore mine, for
example, according to the Mail and Guardian of
October 16, 300 workers decided to stop production. They
are demanding that their salaries be increased to 15,000
Rands and they have been occupying the premises. Brutally,
a 200-strong commando of police, special forces agents
and security guards took the place over. Seven miners
were injured and 40 were arrested.
On October 18, a South African press
agency announced that the diamond workers of Petra, east
of Pretoria (approximately 1,800 workers, 1,000 of whom
are members of the National Union of Mineworkers / NUM),
had gone on strike, demanding a salary of 12,500 Rands.
Their strike is «illegal» and the NUM section does not
support it but, according to its general secretary, the
union has been compelled to represent the miners.
As the press has admitted, «the
COSATU union federation, which is losing ground,»
has been led to to giving its approval to these strikes.
Such is the case, for example, for the strike in the
clothing-workers industry of Newcastle, who until now
have been paid below the legal minimum wage.
After Zuma reiterated his call for
the strikers to go back to work, the press agencies
announced, on October 18, that «COSATU will back
President Zuma's candidacy for a second term as head of
the ANC». A meeting of the strike committee
delegates affirm, «We will not give in!» That is the conclusion that the
Financial Times (October 19) has drawn from the
situation and a gathering of delegates from several mines:
«Those who participated in this gathering of 'workers'
delegates' from the platinum and gold sectors, the
sectors heaviest hit by the strikes, have sent a harsh
warning to the mining companies : the miners demands must
be met, or the strikes that broke out in August will
spread. . . . Sphamanala Makhanya, a winch operator, has
spent a decade in the mines and said he took home around
R5,000 a month before he was dismissed by Amplats. He
lives in a tin shack in a squatter camp and 10 of his
relatives, including his four children in faraway KwaZulu
Natal province, depend on his salary.» Provocation from Anglogold
Ashandi A spectacular example of the
escalation in social unrest is the following: AngloGold
Ashanti, the world's number three producer of gold, has
been forced to suspend all its operations overnight,
because 24,000 of their 35,000 empolyees went on strike
last month (Financial Times, October 19). On
October 22 «AngloGold Ashanti . . . threatened to
dismiss its strikers if they did not return to work by
Wednesday.» (AFP) «Legitimate Defence»? Two months after the Marikana
tragedy, not one single police agent has been placed
under investigation. At the inquiry set upby the
government, the lawyer for the South African police
expressed regret but pleaded «legitimate defence.» We must remember that at least 34
miners were killed, many of them by a bullet in the back. |