About 2 000 Modikwa Platinum Mine workers gathered at the entrance of the Limpopo mine on Monday morning as the strike over a race dispute continued.
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesperson Onis Serothwane said union leadership will meet with their members on Monday to ”reconsolidate their mandate”.
A meeting between the union and the employer deadlocked on Saturday. Both parties remained divided over the wage gap between black and white miners, transport subsidies and the issue of expecting employees to work additional shifts on their days off.
Head of Strategy at Modikwa Platinum, Francis Petersen, said Saturday’s meeting dealt with some of the union’s demands.
”We will probably have more concrete information on the matter later this afternoon [Monday] … On Saturday we got closer to an agreement than Friday.”
Meanwhile, production at the mine remained at a halt. The company has not yet measured the impact of the loss, he said.
Alleged racism at the Modikwa Platinum Mine, a 50% joint venture between Anglo Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals, prompted NUM to declare a dispute and go on strike on Friday.
NUM said racism in the workplace is prohibiting management from paying black employees equal salaries to their white colleagues.
The issue was partly addressed in talks between the parties on Friday after two white employees were suspended for racist e-mails, which circulated through the company. — Sapa