/ 5 July 1996

Impasse at Amplats

Despite top-level intervention, Amplats sees little hope of an end to the illegal strike, report adeleine Wackernagel and Jacquie Golding-Duffy

Production at Rustenburg Platinum Mines has ground to a halt as the last shift of 7 000 workers went on strike this week. With 21 000 workers already dismissed, the mass sacking sets a record since the new government took over in April 1994.

Anglo American Platinum Corporation (Amplats) officials were working around the clock, together with local and central government officials, to resolve the impasse. To break the deadlock, North West Premier Popo Molefe sent public works MEC Zacharia Tolo and finance MEC Martin Kuscus to the mine to act as mediators.

“Everyone is doing what they can,” says Johan Adler of Amplats, “but there is little hope at this stage, although we did see some doubts creeping in at the latest negotiations. Possibly there is a slow realisation that these demands just cannot be met.”

The miners are demanding the payment of death benefit scheme premiums and benefits, a refund of PAYE (pay as you earn) deductions and unemployment insurance fund (UIF), pro-rata payment of “long service” money and payment of a Platinum bonus.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which did not support the strike, is now in the unusual position of being forced to negotiate with management in a bid to save its members’ jobs.

NUM general secretary Kgalema Motlanthe says the strike was “instigated and orchestrated by a group of workers outside the union who have been bolstered by a previous victory over management”.

This “victory” is a previous illegal strike in February, against union advice, where workers at Amplats demanded the payment of provident fund contributions.

“Workers challenged management and they [management] bent the rules and gave in to workers’ demands. Provident funds can only be accessed in the case of old age and premature death, dismissal or retrenchments, but management at the time chose to give in to illegitimate demands,” Motlanthe says.

Motlanthe says the reason this latest strike was organised without the union is because organisers knew their demands were preposterous and would not be backed by the NUM.

Labour analyst Gavin Brown agrees the demands are silly and could not be upheld by the NUM. However, he says the strike reflects the unions’ problems in maintaining control over vast numbers of members.

`The strike shows how easy it is for group coercion and regional power plays to overtake decisions and hijack situations that are not approved by head office.

“It’s unfortunate in this case that thousands of workers have been dismissed,” he says.

The union has attempted to convince its members to return to work, but has highlighted workers’ fears of intimidation.

Motlanthe says the group responsible for the strike used “unsavoury methods” to solicit support.

Amplats, the world’s largest platinum producer, is giving the striking workers 48 hours preference before outside recruitment begins, but so far they have not taken up the offer. And with the last shift of 7 000 joining the illegal strike, up to 28 000 miners may have to be replaced. Already the cost of the strike in lost revenue is estimated at R70- million — add the cost of training and Amplats faces a huge bill this financial year.

The loss in production has helped boost the price of the white metal, from $391,40 an ounce to $392,50, but Amplats’ share price has taken a knock, hitting a year’s low of R27.