An affidavit filed by Lonmin this week in the Labour Court calls for an "independent and closed ballot … in order to determine to which trade union, if any, the employees are affiliated", reported City Press on Sunday.
The company also apparently offered to suspend its termination of the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) recognition agreement.
The replying affidavit was filed in response to an application by NUM to interdict the loss of its recognition and the order to vacate its offices, scheduled to take effect on July 16.
NUM apparently has asked the court to declare invalid the stop orders of NUM members who joined the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) in May.
It also wants its lost members — apparently about 10 000 workers — to be restored to its union.
In court papers, it emerged that NUM hired a firm of forensic accountants and a handwriting expert to study 12 097 stop orders.
According to the union, various defects render at least half of these as invalid.
NUM coordinator at Lonmin, Timmy Timbela, claims in court documents that there is effectively no freedom of association at Lonmin because of various acts of intimidation.
In its court documents, Lonmin suggests the ballot process could be held by an independent elections company, the Elexions Agency, within 20 days of a court order.
NUM and Amcu have until Wednesday to respond to Lonmin's proposal.
"It has never been done before," NUM's lawyer Shamima Gaibie told City Press.
Meanwhile, Amcu filed a reply to NUM's allegations, calling them "opportunistic" and "patently false".
The union's treasurer Jimmy Gama said in an affidavit that NUM had also been at the centre of acts of intimidation and violence.
"The NUM does not approach this court with clean hands".
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa told the newspaper his union would "definitely call out a strike at Lonmin" if the current disputes were not resolved soon.
Amcu made the same threat in May, when NUM would not vacate a union office after losing its majority status to Amcu.
The unions had been struggling for dominance at the mine, resulting in violent strikes and murders.
Last year, 34 miners were shot dead and 78 were wounded on August 16 when police opened fire on them while trying to disperse a group gathered on a hill near Lonmin's platinum mine.
In the preceding week, 10 people, including two police officers and two security guards, died in strike-related violence. – Sapa