POLITICAL ECONOMY

Anglo Platinum to re-instate 12 000 dismissed workers - NUM

According to South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers, the platinum miner has agreed to reinstate the miners and provide a once off pay outs to workers.

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb) - 

The National Union of Mineworkers spokesperson, Lesiba Seshoka, confirmed this evening that Anglo American Platinum had agreed to re-instate the 12 000 workers that had been dismissed at its Rustenburg operations after pro-longed strike action.

The re-instatement was on condition that workers returned to work by Tuesday said Seshoka.

Over and above this, Amplats was prepared to give returning workers a once off R2000 ‘hardship allowance' to help them after having received no pay during the period that they had been on strike.

In order not to discriminate, those who had not gone on strike were to receive a once-off ‘loyalty allowance of R2000.

In addition, workers would be given a R2500 advance to be repaid from January 2013 said Seshoka.

The repayment instalments were to be negotiated with workers but the idea was that a period of six months would be given to repay the amount said Seshoka.

The company has had problems since 12 September since it suspended operations voluntarily following violence and rising levels of intimidation around its Rustenburg sites.

On whether or not the union had discussed the proposal with its members the spokesperson said that it would do so at The Congress of the South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) rally over the weekend in the Rustenburg area.

Reports in the media have said that Cosatu general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, wants to ‘reclaim the Rustenburg area from the forces of counter revolution' after the strikes in the mining sector exposed a disconnect between the federation's unions and its members.