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South Africa: Striking miners get police protection on return

SOUTH African police deployed additional officers to the platinum belt today to protect miners returning to work.

Police spokesman Thulani Ngubane said that they had set up park-and-ride facilities around the platinum mines to handle the arrivals.

It is unclear how many workers will be going back to work, but the three big platinum firms say a majority of the 70,000 strikers they have contacted directly want to end the strike — the longest in South African mining history.

“We are prepared for any eventuality,” Mr Ngubane said, although he admitted that it would be difficult to provide security for the miners in the shanty towns that ring the main mines. 

Four have been killed in the area over the last three days.

One slain miner was stabbed, another was burned to death and a third miner and his wife were strangled.

Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) have been on strike at Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin since January pressing for higher wages but talks have gone nowhere.

AMCU leaders maintain that most of their striking members are not happy with the latest offer of up to 10 per cent.

But mining companies have started to communicate directly with the 70,000 platinum miners and NUM members are now beginning to return to work.

National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said the last two days of violence signified an escalation of intimidation and attacks against his union and predicted that the violence would worsen.

“We’re extremely worried because there are going to be more incidents like this,” Mr Mammburu said.

“If Lonmin wants our members to return to work they have to guarantee their safety. 

“We have no faith in police — they are not doing anything to protect workers.”

North West Premier Thandi Modise called for all parties in the mining strike to end it.

Ms Modise also called on non-striking workers to remain calm and let the law take its course.

She added that the employers must tighten the security arrangements protecting non-striking workers reporting for duty.

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