Black miners refused to go down the shafts at Witbank's Maatla colliery last night – thus beginning what could be the biggest wage strike in South Africa's history. And with conflict on two other mines adding to the momentum of the miners' strike, the National Union of Mineworkers' target of 200 000 out on 45 other Chamber of Mines' collieries and gold mines could be achieved.
NUM's general secretary Cyril Ramaphosa last night announced a second stage of the strike – which could dramatically escalate the impact of NUM's action in support of a 30% wage increase: from Monday NUM officials on all mines currently not involved in the dispute – including platinum, chrome, uranium and diamond mines – will begin moves to hold strike ballots.
NUM has already moved to include in the strike 100 000 workers at chamber-affiliated mines excluded because the union has not yet gained recognition. And last night Ramaphosa released details of an additional set of demands his 260 000-union has made to the chamber.
The six-point document, sent to the chamber yesterday afternoon, demands that management effectively recognise their workers' right to strike by undertaking not to use force (or call in state security forces) and not to deprive strikers of food during the strike. Although NUM had demanded a reply by 8pm last night, the union announced it would give the chamber the time it needs to respond.
Chamber spokesman Johan Liebenberg said the chamber would possibly reply some time today. NUM has already instructed its members to adhere to a strict code of conduct during the strike.
Points in the code include:
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Elected strike committees will regulate behaviour of all strikers and ensure order
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Workers should stay in their rooms and only come out when instructed to do so by strike committees.
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No drinking of alcohol, no violence and no intimidation will be allowed. "Any worker who fights or drinks must be taken to the strike committee."
And while the NUM members were preparing to shut down 46 Chamber of Mines operations through the country, industrial unrest in other sectors – encompassing workers ranging from tea pickers in rural Natal, through Free State brewery workers to petro-chemical workers at Sasol – could intensify next week, eventually including almost half of the 712 000 members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Adding to mounting labour tension are reports that the government is considering legislation to restrict industrial action, particularly that "fomented for political purposes". While big business is understood to be lobbying strongly against further legislative intervention in labour relations, the government is likely to face equally strong pressure from the ultra-rightwing Conservative Party during the Manpower budget debate beginning in parliament today.
The Minister of Manpower, who has so far not responded to the allegations of a pending clapdown on unions, is expected to respond during the debate. On the mines, with just 60 hours to go before the day shift comes up from the shafts, signalling the start of the strike, only a major 11th-hour shift by the chamber from its 15-23% offer is likely to stop the miners' action. Although last year's planned action by the miners, was pre-empted by a revised offer made, literally, only hours before the planned national strike, such a last minute move seems unlikely this year.
After weeks of brinkmanship by both NUM and the chamber, tension on the mines mounted rapidly this week:
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Three miners were killed in separate clashes on Tuesday and Wednesday in the hostels and underground at Leslie gold mine, according to Gencor. Gencor spokesman DW de Beer said mine security forces dispersed "groups of employees" who had gathered and "threatened each other" on Tuesday night
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More than 50 Anglo Vaal workers were dismissed at Lorraine gold mine in the Free State late last week and, according to the union, many were injured in clashes with mine security over a boycott of a mine liquor outlet.
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NUM assistant general secretary Marcel Golding said reports from members suggested that troops would be used to seal off mines during the strike.
An SA Defence Force spokesman refused to comment on this, while chamber spokesman Peter Bunkell flatly rejected it: "We are not even planning to call in the police let alone the army," he said.
NUM has not restricted its strike call to mines covered by union-chamber negotiations, calling for action on all gold and coal mines, including non-chamber mines and chamber mines where the union is not yet recognised. This expansion could add 100 000 strikers to those included in the central strike action, suggests NUM general secretary Cyril Ramaphosa. And a scattering of disputes between the Nactu-affiliated Black Allied Mining and Construction Workers' Union (Bamcwu) could add to the figures.
In the face of employer stockpiling of both coal and gold in the runup to the strike, NUM has called for solidarity action by workers at the coal depot at Richards' Bay to stop coal exports. NUM could also be drawn into a second major industrial conflict, alongside the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), after NUM the country's biggest union.
In a dispute originating in disciplinary action taken after the planned national metal industry strike three weeks ago, management at Samancor's Metalloys plant at Meyerton this week sacked more than 1 100 Numsa members for their two-day strike Iast week. And while the company said it was going to court yesterday for an order evicting the workers from their hostels, Numsa is threatening to link up with NUM to bring the country's entire ferro-metal sector to a standstill in sympathy with the Samancor workers.
At the same time, Numsa officials were yesterday locked in talks with Iscor over management threat to sack 7 000 workers, now in the l8th day of their legal strike at Iscor's Vanderbijlpark plant. And strike action by Numsa members over hourly wages and short time has led to the closure of the Mercedes Benz plant in East London, union spokesman Viwe Gxariso said yesterday.
Conciliation boards yesterday began an attempt to resolve a wage and working conditions dispute between the Chemical Workers' Industrial Union (CWIU) and management at Sasol II, Sasol III, Sasol Fertilizers and Sasol Explosives and four collieries near Secunda. Workers at the four Sasol plants have already voted to strike should the CBS fail to resolve the disputes, while union officials are still counting votes from strike ballots. Other sectors affected include:
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Municipalities: More than 1 200 council workers are on strike in Diepmeadow over the local council's abrupt announcement last week that it privatising electricity meter reading and the transfer of its 12 meter readers to the company concerned. They join 10 000 Cape Town municipal workers and 600 in Durban.
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Even the normally quiet agricultural sector has been affected. Fawn is seeking legal advice over the sacking of 900 tea-picker members who struck at Sapekoe farm near Richmond in Natal last month.
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The post office strike which started in the Eastern Cape has escalated: about 15 000 workers countrywide are now involved.
Meanwhile, an application brought by the postmaster general to restrain Post and Telecommunication Workers' Association members from "encouraging strikes" was dismissed with costs in the Pretoria Supreme Court late yesterday. In another development yesterday some 2 000 Eastern Cape postal workers were given an ultimatum to return to work today or face dismissal – David Niddrie and Eddie Koch.
