SA miners rally after 12,000 sacked

“Last night I received a message to say I’ve been dismissed because of the illegal strike,” said Mkhari,23,who only started work two months ago.

“It’s not right. I’ve a lot of debt,a child,rent…” said his friend Mpoti,also 23.

Police armoured vehicles parked outside the stadium,while a helicopter circled the area. Meanwhile,in the nearby town of Marikana a union branch leader at a different mine was shot dead yesterday evening,his union said.

“A branch secretary of the union at Western Platinum was shot and killed at his house in Marikana this (Friday) evening,” said National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Lesiba Seshoka in a statement.

Unions have come under fire as workers reject the traditional negotiation structures and accuse their guilds of conniving with mine managers.

Around 28,000 Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) workers have been on a wildcat strike for three weeks at the firm’s sprawling facilities in Rustenburg,which account for around a quarter of world platinum production.

Amplats yesterday said the miners failed to appear before disciplinary hearings “and have therefore been dismissed in their absence.”

It is the latest crisis to hit South Africa’s vital minerals sector,which has been crippled by a wave of violent disputes over miners’ pay since August.

The company said the strike had so far cost USD 80 million in lost revenue.

“Despite the company’s repeated calls for employees to return to work,we have continued to experience attendance levels of less than 20 per cent,” Amplats said in a statement.

But with many miners unwilling to give up their demands for higher pay and Amplats taking a tough line,the spectre of violence looms.

In August 46 people died during a strike at the Lonmin platinum mine in nearby Marikana.

“Things now are tuning to a point,” said Gaddhafi Mdoda a worker and activist,”they are leaving us with no choice.”

At least seven people have been killed around Rustenburg in strike-related violence this week.

Late Thursday one miner was killed when police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a group of 300 illegal strikers protesting on a hilltop close to the mines.