THE strikes that have halted work at seven of South Africa’s gold and platinum mines have spread to the chrome sector.
It emerged yesterday that miners at Samancor Chrome’s mine near Mooinooi, northwest of Johannesburg, stopped work last Friday demanding a minimum take-home pay of 12,500 rand ($1,560), the same demand as that of the Marikana platinum miners.
Police and soldiers were out in force yesterday to halt a planned march by miners in the fifth week of a strike at the platinum mine owned by UK-based Lonmin.
The march had been declared illegal after the ANC government ordered a crackdown.
Former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema was barred by police from addressing 2,000 striking miners at a stadium near the mine, some 60 miles (100km) north-west of Johannesburg.
After arguing with police, Malema was escorted away by a special police protection unit.
Lonmin said yesterday that it is halting work on a new shaft and will not require 1,200 contract workers at Marikana.
Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey said the company has advised contractor Murray & Roberts that it will not be needing its 1,200 workers.
They are among some 10,000 contract workers employed at the mine along with 28,000 employees.
Attendance has been below one per cent in recent days at Lonmin’s nine shafts.
On Sunday, South African police had halted a peaceful march by striking miners without violence, a day after firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse ‘illegal’ protesters.
Riot officers barricaded a main road into Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg, and persuaded about 500 miners that their march was illegal and that they should go home.
Sunday’s protesters from Anglo American Platinum mines wanted to march to Rustenburg police station to demand an end to the violence against strikers.
Some carried sticks, but there were none of the machetes, spears and clubs that have marked previous protests for higher wages.
On Saturday, police raided hostels at Lonmin platinum mine and collected homemade weapons. They fired rubber bullets and tear gas to force people into their homes.
