Peace accord signed at Lomnin, without an agreement on wages! Will the workers sign or continue to strike? The accord commits the strikers to return to work by Monday and the Lonmin mine to negotiate the workers R12 500 pay demand. The accord also states that peace should prevail during negotiations and that peace and stability at the mine should be restored. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, AMCU, did not sign the peace accord, but their representatives were present. Miners say they will not go back to work until their demand for the salary-hike has been met. The chamber of mines believes the R12 500 salary demand by striking miners at Marikana is unreasonable. The miners are being supported by Methodist Minister Paul Verryn, a former anti-apartheid campaigner, who said their call to be paid 12,500 rand (1,200 euros) per month was fair. “I actually think by comparison towards what some people in this mine are earning, and some of the investors are earning from what is coming from this mine, R12.5 is reasonable,” he said.

Posted on September 6, 2012 by ottwf

Video: south-african-miners-defiant-over-pay-protest

Peace accord signed at Lomnin

Thursday 6 September 2012 05:35

SABC

A peace accord to find an amicable solution to the labour dispute at Lonmin’s Marikana mine was signed last night. The accord was signed by the Department of Labour, The National Union of Mineworkers and two other trade unions, UASA and Solidarity, at the Rustenburg Civic Centre in the North West province.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, AMCU, did not sign the peace accord, but their representatives were present. The accord commits the strikers to return to work by Monday and the Lonmin mine to negotiate the workers R12 500 pay demand.

Government mediation talks re-opened yesterday with the aim of ending the illegal strike action which has led to 44 deaths at the mine. The talks went on until midnight and the miners had already left the venue for home when the agreement was signed. The miners are yet to sign it.

The accord also states that peace should prevail during negotiations and that peace and stability at the mine should be restored.

The president of the trade union federation, Cosatu, says they are optimistic that the striking miners will sign the peace accord.

Once the peace accord has been signed by the striking mines a date will be set for negotiations to commence, which will be facilitated by the CCMA.

Once all the parties have signed, all the unions will be included in the existing wage agreement, including AMCU.

The president of the trade union federation, Cosatu, says they are optimistic that the striking miners will sign the peace accord.

Strike leaders are expected to analyse the peace accord and give feedback to the other miners this morning, near the Koppie where 34 of their colleagues were gunned down by police three weeks ago.

Chamber of mines defends Lonmin

Thursday 6 September 2012 11:08

SABC

The Chamber of Mines has come to the defence of Lonmin in the North West where ongoing strike action and violence have been occurring.

The chamber believes the R12 500 salary demand by striking miners at Marikana is unreasonable. Miners say they will not go back to work until their demand for the salary-hike has been met. The Chamber’s Vusi Mabena says the strike came at a time that the platinum sector is experiencing difficulties.

Mabena says the strike on its own is a great blow to the sector. He says rock-drill operators’ salary is R6 000 a month, not more than that.

“Demanding a take home salary of R12 500, they are basically asking for a gross salary of R20 000 and if you aceed to a demand like that for a rock driller, then you want to close the mine. The platinum industry was already going through difficult times when this strike came. We are looking at ways to cease the situation,” says Mabena.

About ottwf

The capitalistic and imperialistic system and its systematic aims: profit and power over others, still dominates our world and not the aims of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as 1948 agreed! After the world-economic-crisis after 1929 and the following World-War the world hat decided with agreeing the Universal Declaration of Human rights, to create a new world order; conflicts should be solved with peaceful means, not nations and their power, but the dignity of human beings around the world should be the aim of the policies and the economy, of every state and the community of states. But soon after the end of the war, when the victims and destruction were forgotten, all continued as before, with all risks, we had seen before. The split in rich an poor is getting bigger and bigger. We also overuse our global environment already, even if the big majority of mankind still lives in poverty! We are not victims, this world is men-made and be changed from men and women! It will be possible, if those, who do not want or serve (because of system-pressure) profits first, but want for themselves and everybody a life in human dignity unite and develop in a global base-democratic movement a common vision for our world, and learn, how to make this vision real. We need for it a big empowerment of many, many common men and women and their activities. Our chances are because of new communication technologies, of common languages, of the level of education and the mixture of people from different backgrounds better then ever. The occupy-movement is a good start for such a global movement. We support it and try to contribute to its success! We choose news and make comments and so try to unite people for an Occupy-Think-Tank: Its tasks: creating a news-network, self-education, working on global-reform programs and learning to organize projects for those, who are suffering. Join us, so that we can build teams for these aims for all subjects and countries as a base for the unification. We have Wan(n)Fried(en) in our name, because it means When peace and it is a modification of the name of the town our base is, in Wanfried, a small town in the middle of Germany, where we can use a former factory for our activities. Our telefon: 0049-5655-924981, mobil: 0171-9132149, email: occupy-think-tank@gmx.de
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