Sata warns nurses
By Kombe Chimpinde-Mataka and Godfrey Chikumbi in Mansa
Sun 01 Dec. 2013, 14:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata has warned nurses to resume work before the government strikes. And President Sata says that it is not possible for the government to introduce free education because it is a cost. Meanwhile, PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba says the party should maintain President Sata for the success of the party.
Speaking when he featured on Mansa's Radio Yangeni where he went to thank the people for voting for Dr Chitalu Chilufya in the recent Mansa Central parliamentary by-election, President Sata said nurses should not have gone on strike without declaring a dispute.
"Let me tell you something; if you your daughter tells you that let me nyela beat you, you just laugh. Nurses are not governing, us we are running that government. We have a minister who is responsible for running that government. We want to follow the law. Let us follow the law, let us follow channels. But if you want to make shortcuts, we as government we have everything at our disposal: we have the police, the courts, so if we want to make shortcuts we can easily make shortcuts and enjoy the shortcuts; it's not blackmail. We have a garden boy, you have a house girl, do they tell you what to do? When we as government strike, we strike one way, not like them," President Sata said.
"If you ask labour minister Mr Shamenda, nurses did not declare a dispute for them to go on strike but we understand they have children. Those nurses who are strking, they are human beings, they have relatives in hospitals and some of their relatives are dying with them going on strike; probably they would have helped someone who is dying. But I don't want to use this channel to tell you what government is thinking, I will leave it to the MPs to deal with them."
President Sata also said defects in the new constitution could be corrected by way of amendments.
"If there are defectives, we don't need a new constitution, we can amend this constitution. If you have a chapter that you want, you can insert in the bills of what you want. We appointed a committee to look at the constitution and when they bring that document, we are not in a hurry. If there was a vacuum, we would have been in a hurry," President Sata said.
"How do you bring in a referendum? We have only had one referendum during Mwanakatwe, how do you come and want to bring in a referendum in between? Secondly, the procedure is that me, I'm hands-off. When the committee (technical committee) finishes they will deal with the justice minister who will take it to Cabinet. But what I am saying is if there are defects, we can call for amendments."
President Sata also castigated civil society organisations that were criticising the government over the constitution-making process, saying that they represented themselves and not the views of people.
He also said he desired for Zambians to have free education before he was voted in office but he realised that that would mean overtaxing the same people.
"When we were in the opposition, it was simple to say we are going to have free education but we didn't realise that we are overtaxing you people who are paying tax and you know education has a cost to build a classroom, to bring a desk, we need to pay a teacher," President Sata said.
"Conditions prevailing in the country right now cannot allow us to implement free education because we are going to punish children who are in the same schools."
He said he wanted to have more schools built in all parts of the country but that meant paying teachers.
And President Sata said his party had achieved a lot in 90 days.
"In 90 days, we have achieved a great deal: increased salaries for civil servants including teachers, in 90 days, we have not done it under 180 days," he said.
And President Michael Sata yesterday deferred the ground-breaking ceremony of Luapula University to next year.
And Kabimba said political parties that have been successful in the world have maintained one leader.
Speaking at a thanksgiving rally at Mansa's Kaole Stadium yesterday, Kabimba said the PF should maintain President Sata who was not out of step with anything that has happened in the world.
He said the cause of the poor had always been in President Sata's blood.
"We all know, those of us who have worked with you, that the cause of the poor is your vision. The cause of the poor runs in your blood; it is not something that comes as an after-thought," he said.
Kabimba, who attributed the victory of the PF to discipline among officials in Mansa, said the ruling party would not compromise on the same.
"We won elections in 2011 because there was discipline in the party and I want to urge the party we ought to maintain discipline because that is what will guarantee success," he said.
At the same rally, Southern Province minister Daniel Munkombwe urged party members to allow President Sata to rule in peace.
Munkombwe said it was too short a time or period for confusion to engulf the party.
Labels: HEALTHCARE, MICHAEL SATA, NURSES, STRIKE
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(PUBLICNEWSHUB) Economic freedom fighters’ statement in solidarity with the continuing numsa strike
By Thandi | 2013-09-10 0:27
Press Release
Economic freedom fighters’ statement in solidarity with the continuing numsa strike action in the automotive retail sector
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa finished their strike action last Friday in one sector and will be taking another big strike action in another. The Economic Freedom Fighters supports the strike action of the 70,000 members in the automotive retail sector who have from today downed their tools after a failure of employers to come to the table.
Employers, represented in the main by the Fuel Retailers Association and the Retail Motor Industry Organisation are offering 5.6%. Whilst NUMSA has demanded a R30 an hour pay increase in all sectors by 2016 for workers earning more than R6,000, a night-shift allowance of 20%, and an afternoon shift allowance of 15%. EFF fully supports these demands, particularly in light of the rising standards of living in South Africa. This is a progressive demand in realisation of a living wage for workers in the sector.
EFF further encourages the rest of the sector’s 300,000 workers, most of whom are unorganised, to join in on the picket lines in one voice and demand a better wage for their labour. EFF members in Cape Town and Johannesburg are also called upon to join in the demonstrations with the workers, in full EFF regalia, to demonstrate our full endorsement of their demands and strike action.
ISSUED BY THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF FOR ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS: COMMANDER JULIUS MALEMA.
Contact Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, EFF National Spokesperson – 0731333012
Labels: ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS, MINING, STRIKE
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(MnG SA) Labour Amplats workers end underground protest
15 Jun 2013 10:05
Reuters, Sapa
Operations at Anglo American Platinum's Thembelani mine are back to normal after a "group of employees" prevented workers from going above ground.
"The situation at the mine is normal, people came above ground yesterday evening," Amplats spokesperson Mpumi Sithole said.
The industrial action followed the dismissal of four union shop stewards for "inappropriate behaviour".
According to the company about 2400 mineworkers were being prevented from exiting the shaft on Friday.
"We confirm that this is as a result of the suspension of four shop stewards for inappropriate behaviour which is against our behavioural procedure," Sithole said at the time.
Earlier, French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the workers were staging a sit-in strike over the suspension of four union leaders.
"They don't want to come out from underground because they want their leadership's suspension lifted," Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) official George Tyobeka was quoted as saying.
The four Amcu leaders suspended were reportedly accused of submitting fraudulent membership applications in an attempt to inflate union membership numbers.
Amcu and its rival union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), have been struggling for dominance at the mines, which has resulted in violent strikes and assassinations.
Last year, the police shot dead 34 miners at Lonmin's neighbouring mine in Marikana.
Eight NUM members were recently suspended at Lonmin for alleged union membership fraud.
The Amplats tension happened as Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe was meeting union and mining companies on Friday to find a solution to the instability which has troubled the sector in the past months. – Reuters, Sapa
Labels: AMPLATS, MINING, SOUTH AFRICA, STRIKE
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Anglogold miners throw stones at Vavi
19 Oct 2012 16:12 - Kwanele Sosibo
NUM officials and Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi were pelted with stones by some protesters at AngloGold Ashanti's mine near Orkney. Zwelinzima Vavi (Madelene Cronje, M&G)
"These hooligans threw stones at us," National Union of Mineworkers regional coordinator Madoda Sambatha said.
Sambatha said earlier on Friday their entourage had travelled to two other mines. At Kopanong workers told them they were going back to work on Monday and at the other, Vaal reefs number eight, they said they would not.
Both meetings were peaceful.
"We [then] went to Vaal reefs Moab Khotsong and were told that before we arrived, this woman from the Socialist Democratic Movement had already addressed those workers, and said they must not listen to the general secretary of Cosatu."
However, they went ahead and spoke to them. They left their cars and walked in on foot. As they approached they saw two groups – a NUM group waiting for Vavi, and a second group "who are the permanent disrupters", said Sambatha.
"We were on foot. As we were advancing, these hooligans threw stones at us. We retreated."
They drove back to the union's regional offices.
"We are okay. The car was not damaged," he said.
Detained and interrogated
Earlier, the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), a Trotskyist organisation that helped form the joint strike coordinating committee across many of the mines beset by strikes say they were detained and interrogated after addressing a crowd of over 1 500 striking workers.
Liv Shange, an executive member of the organisation, said the group had been invited by the mine's strike committee and began addressing workers by midday. Following the address, they met with committee members at one of the mine's hostels.
As they left, Shange said four members of the organisation who were travelling together in a car were followed by mine security vehicles, about five police vans and what appeared to be a security helicopter belonging to the mine. After being stopped, she said they were taken to mine offices where they were interrogated by a team led by a policeman who identified himself as Lieutenant Colonel Pretorius.
"We were stopped aggressively and taken to mine security offices at about 2.30pm and interrogated one by one by a group of 10 men," said Shange. "He said we could only meet with workers if we were a recognised union. I told him we were not a union and had the right to assemble and associate with the workers."
Shange, a Swedish expatriate, said she was also threatened with deportation and asked questions about her family and children.
The DSM, which is part of the UK-based committee for Workers' International, has chapters in over 40 countries. It has been upfront about its role in the ongoing mine strikes which have affected the platinum, gold and diamond sectors. It is also affiliated to the Democratic Left Front, a coalition of leftist organisations. Police have cracked down on the campaign waged in unison with the joint strike coordinating committee by arresting hundreds of striking workers.
The mines have responded by issuing ultimatums to striking workers. Strikes continue however, with workers in many cases disregarding the ultimatums.
George Ntsane, a strike committee member at Anglogold Ashanti said six workers had been arrested for public violence at the mine and that the underground workers would not return to work until their demand of R16 000 salary had been met. – additional reporting by Sapa
Labels: ANGLO-AMERICAN, MINING, NUM (SA), STRIKE, ZWELINZIMA VAVI
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COMMENT - The localisation of both production and consumption of goods and services is a matter of national security and national sovereignty. The country's economy should not grind to a halt because of a foreign strike or any other external event.
SA truckers strike to hit Zimbabwe
08/10/2012 00:00:00
by Business Day
ZIMBABWE’S fuel, retail and tyre manufacturing industries are buckling under pressure from the freight workers’ strike in neighbouring South Africa.
Trade between South Africa and Zimbabwe hinges mainly on moving goods by road and accounts for 70% of Zimbabwe’s imports.
Industrialists in Zimbabwe warned on Monday that the country stood to lose as much as $100m a day as a result of the truck drivers’ strike, which has affected the flow of goods through the Beitbridge border post - Southern Africa’s busiest inland port.
Zambia, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo also use the Beitbridge border post to transport goods from South Africa.
Eric Bloch, an economist at H&E consultancy, said a meltdown could occur in Zimbabwe in a matter of weeks unless the strike was resolved.
"Many of the service stations are fast running out of fuel and the strike has affected our exports to South Africa," he said.
"The repercussions are very significant as the strike will bring everything to a standstill, a situation Zimbabwe cannot afford, given the shrinking economy."
Lucky Mlilo, chairman of the Association for Business in Zimbabwe, said the strike would result in increased congestion at the Beitbridge border post as the festive season rush began, placing the onus on the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority to find "possible solutions to the anticipated build-up at all borders".
Kennedy Mandevani, MD of Dunlop Zimbabwe, which sources all of its raw materials from South Africa, said the company currently had "reasonable supplies" but was concerned that, if the strike continued, they might not be able to satisfy the market.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe said that the strike had had a positive effect, because in the short term it had boosted factory capacity utilisation, currently at 52%, according to the industry and trade ministry.
"Ironically, if the strike persists it will afford a chance for capacity utilisation to improve as it has been severely affected by the sheer number of imports, especially in the retail industry," the council’s executive director, Rosemary Siyachitema, said on Monday.
Labels: STRIKE
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Anglo Platinum fires 12,000 workers as SA unrest deepens
05/10/2012 00:00:00
by Reuters
ANGLO American Platinum (Amplats)
fired 12,000 wildcat strikers on Friday, a high-stakes attempt by the world's biggest platinum producer to
push back at a wave of illegal stoppages sweeping through South Africa's mining sector and beyond.
The rand fell sharply after the announcement, suggesting investors fear the sackings could worsen what is shaping up to be the most damaging period of labour unrest in Africa's biggest economy since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Police shot dead one striking miner overnight, bringing the death toll in two months of unrest to 48. Strikes have spread beyond the mining sector, with Shell declaring on Friday that it would not be able to honour contracts to deliver fuel near Johannesburg because of a trucking strike.
The unrest is causing political trouble for President Jacob Zuma and his ruling African National Congress (ANC), the veteran liberation movement with long-standing ties to labour unions.
"You fire 12,000 people, and it's like 'Oh my god, what happens now?'" one Johannesburg-based currency strategist said.
When rival Impala Platinum fired 17,000 workers in January to squash a union turf war, it led to a six week stoppage in which three people were killed, the company lost 80,000 ounces in output and platinum prices jumped 21 percent.
The police shooting of 34 strikers at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine on August 16 poisoned labour relations in the sector even more, and the hefty wage deal that ensued triggered copycat demands in gold and iron ore mines.
"Amplats had been giving signals that it was going to hold the line after Lonmin had folded - but it's a huge gamble," said Nic Borain, an independent political analyst.
"Someone had to take it on the chin or this would have kept on unravelling and spread through the economy. It's difficult to know whether this causes the unrest to spread or whether it takes some of the sting out of it. It could go either way."
Speaking to South Africa's e-News television channel, one dismissed worker said Amplats was "starting a war".
ANC Pressure
Zuma tried to put a positive spin on the situation in a speech to business leaders late on Thursday, stressing that since the end of white-minority rule South Africans have shown "the capacity to overcome difficulties when we work together".
"We should not seek to portray ourselves as a nation that is perpetually fighting," he said.
However, with an ANC leadership run-off looming in December, Nelson Mandela's 100-year-old liberation movement is preoccupied with its own divisions. Zuma is seen as unlikely to take any action to stabilise the economy that could upset his political allies in the unions.
"In the build-up to the election, the government is unlikely to come out with any clear policy directives," said Simon Freemantle, an analyst at Standard Bank in Johannesburg.
Reflecting such concerns, Moody's cut South Africa's credit rating last week. Finance Minister Pravi Gordhan has already said he will have to cut his 2.7 percent growth forecast for 2012 when he delivers an interim budget on October 24.
Miner Shot
More than 75,000 miners, or 15 percent of the workforce in a sector that accounts for 6 percent of output, have been out on unofficial strikes and tensions with security forces and mining bosses were running high even before the mass Amplats sackings.
Near the "platinum belt" city of Rustenburg, 120 km (70 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, workers said a miner was killed by a rubber bullet fired by police overnight.
"He was shot here by the police," Mbubhu Lolo, one Amplats striker told Reuters, pointing to his midriff.
Police would not confirm the cause of the death, although the ground nearby was strewn with spent rubber-bullet shell casings and teargas canisters after clashes the previous night.
On Friday, protesters in a shanty town near the Amplats mine barricaded streets with rocks and burning tyres as more than 30 riot police backed by armoured vehicles stood nearby.
Earlier in the week, an Amplats training centre and two conveyor belts were torched, making it harder to restart operations when it does manage to resolve the standoff.
AngloGold Ashanti, South Africa's biggest bullion producer, has lost virtually all local production due to wildcat strikes, while rivals Gold Fields and Harmony Gold have also taken a hit. Around 300 strikers at Kumba Iron Ore have also blockaded the company's giant Sishen iron ore mine in the remote Northern Cape province.
Force Majeure
Apart from the mining sector, a strike with more potential to damage the wider economy is brewing in transport, with 20,000 truckers on a two-week authorised stoppage to demand higher pay.
Shell said on Friday it could not honour fuel delivery contracts around Johannesburg, declaring "force majeure" to free itself and customers from existing obligations.
"There is fuel available across the country, so the issue is not fuel supply, but the challenge is delivering it safely to our retail sites," the oil major said. Other petrol companies are holding their breath, especially around the commercial hub Johannesburg, but have not yet followed Shell's move.
Raising the stakes, transport union SATAWU said it wanted workers at railways and ports to strike next week, a development that would affect coal and other mineral shipments.
Coal output from one of the world's biggest suppliers has so far been unaffected but any disruption could hit power utility Eskom, which is already struggling to prevent a repeat of a 2008 power crisis when the grid nearly collapsed. Some 85 percent of South Africa's electricity is generated by coal-fired plants.
Many supermarkets and logistics firms are running on back-up plans because of the truckers' strike. U.S. car giant General Motors said production at its Port Elizabeth plant on the south coast had been affected.
Labels: LABOUR, MINING, PLATINUM, STRIKE
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200 Ngabwe Mine workers protest
By Misheck Wangwe and Isaac Phiri in Kitwe
Sun 30 Sep. 2012, 09:40 CAT
OVER 200 youths that were recruited by Ngabwe Mine of Central Province yesterday protested in Kitwe, demanding the arrest of the proprietor for allegedly abandoning them at the mine.
The irate youths that were recruited from different parts of the country blocked Kabelenga road in Kitwe, which leads to the labour office and attempted to block Obote Avenue before being restrained by riot police.
The workers said the government and law enforcement wings must take action against Felix Chipaila and his managers who allegedly abandoned them in the remotest part of Central Province in chief Ngabwe's area with no food, transport or means of communication.
A representative of the workers, Victor Bwalya, described working conditions at the mine as slavery, saying the over 800 mineworkers were living in an 'open prison' at the mine.
Bwalya said there was no road leading to the mine when they were taken there and they worked for two months to clear over 250 kilometres but were not paid.
"I came from Kasama and we were recruited from Wusakile here in Kitwe and we were taken to the mine site. It's in the remote area of Central Province. We were told that everything is there, (that) they've put up nice shelters and beds, but we found nothing.
We were sleeping on those big leaves found in the bush. When it comes to food, it's a sad story; we were serving ourselves nshima in cups and when we run out of food, it's only porridge and many times we slept on empty stomachs but we were working like that. Sometimes we would have nshima with salt for a week," Bwalya said.
Bwalya said the management of the mine promised to be paying them K2.8 million as salaries, but had never done so.
He said the working and living conditions at the mine became unbearable as many of their colleagues started suffering from dysentery, diarrhoea and malaria.
"Most of my colleagues became generally weak, a situation that forced the 200 workers to start walking from the mine to chief Ngabwe after the mine site managers disappeared," he said.
"We started begging for food from the villagers in chief Ngabwe and got our clothes and some few valuables in exchange for food. That's how we started walking from chief Ngabwe to chief Mukubwe. We walked over 70 kilometres and the village headman we found assisted us very much. We sold our remaining belongings and we raised about K8 million for transport and we booked a bus from chief Mukubwe to Luanshya and then here," Bwalya said.
He said they wanted the police and the district administration to locate the proprietor who was nowhere to be seen so that he could pay them their dues and be brought to justice as many of his colleagues from various parts of the country were stranded and spending nights at Kitwe district administration offices.
Kitwe district commissioner Elias Kamanga said the police and the district administration was working round the clock to locate Chipaila.
Addressing the workers, Kamanga said it was unacceptable that a Zambian dumped the young men in the bush after promising them jobs, adding that a positive answer would be made known to them by tomorrow.
Labels: GENOCIDE, LABOUR, MINERS, STRIKE
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'All systems go' on Farlam Commission
21 Sep 2012 13:03 - Faranaaz Parker
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe on Friday morning announced that the commission of inquiry into the causes of the Marikana massacre will begin in 10 days, on Monday, October 1.
The timeline is ambitious given that it runs through the December period during which many organisations and government departments run on a skeleton staff, and workers usually return home to other provinces.
Radebe outlined the logistics for the commission at a press briefing on Friday.
"From our side it's all systems go," said Radebe.
President Jacob Zuma called for a commission of inquiry days after the killings of 45 people at Marikana, following a wage dispute at Lonmin's platinum mines.
The terms of reference for the commission were gazetted on September 12, and the commission has been give four months from the day it begins to present its final report to the president.
The offices of the commission will be headquartered in Marikana and the hearings themselves will take place at the Rustenberg civic centre.
Planning logistics
The nearby Marikana community hall, which is central to many of the informal settlements from which Lonmin draws its workforce, has also been made available to the commission.
Radebe asked that the venue be used as a remote viewing site for the public hearings that will take place at the civic centre, to be used by those who could not travel to Rustenberg for the hearings.
Its unclear what sort of budget the commission will have at its disposal for the duration of the inquiry but Radebe said the budgetary needs had been costed that his DG was liaising with the national treasury to request the funds. The justice department has also earmarked funds from its baseline allocation for the commission's start-up operations.
Radebe said that given the circumstances, security was an important consideration for the justice department.
"The prevailing environment in Marikana may require a heightened sense of vigilance in regard to security," he said.
The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster will coordinate security arrangements, and will be assisted by the minister for community safety and liaison within the North West.
Bringing out heavy-hitters
Radebe also revealed that Farlam has designated five advocates to evaluate and present evidence before the commission. They are Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Mathew Chaskalson, Geoff Budlender, Johannes Nxusana and Charles Wessley.
The advocates, who have a depth of experience in human rights issues, will be assisted by a team of investigators. Radebe said discussions between the justice department and the commissioners on who to select as investigators are "at an advanced stage".
Constitutional law expert Pierre De Vos said the choice of evidence leaders makes it clear that the commission "mean's business"
"They really are employing heavy hitters to assist them and the terms of reference, with the one exception, are very comprehensive," he said.
Challenges for the commission
That exception, he said, was that the terms of reference do not explicitly require the commission to investigate the broader issues within the police force dealing with training, shoot to kill messages and the remilitarisation of the police.
De Vos said one of the biggest challenges that the commission would face going forward would be gaining the trust of all the parties involved, "to get them to come forward and give evidence and share information, in a context where there is a lot of distrust".
Another issue which has dogged previous commissions of inquiry is the ability to force individuals in the security cluster to give evidence. The Donen Commission for example failed to get crucial evidence from members of police and the security agencies because they said national security would be breached.
Labels: MASSACRE, STRIKE
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South Africa’s mine unrest spreads
10/09/2012 00:00:00
by Reuters
STRIKING South African platinum miners stayed off the job on Monday and marched to press wage demands at major producer Lonmin as 15,000 workers at the world's fourth biggest bullion producer, Gold Fields, also downed tools. Thousands of Lonmin workers were defying a Monday deadline to return to shafts that have been idle for a month at the Marikana mine, 100 km northwest of Johannesburg.
Growing labour unrest is challenging the ruling ANC's claim to be able to defend workers' interests while ensuring stable economic growth. It culminated in mid-August in violent clashes with police in which 44 people were killed at Marikana, most of them strikers shot by police officers.
The killings conjured up painful memories of similar incidents under racist apartheid rule, which ended in 1994.
Police have said they opened fire in self-defence but fresh testimony that officers shot men who were fleeing or surrendering seems likely to deepen anger against the security forces and the African National Congress (ANC).
On Monday morning about 4,000 of the Lonmin strikers, some armed with sticks, spears or machetes, stood their ground 50 metres (yards) away from heavily armed riot police backed up by armoured vehicles.
The marching strikers chanted "The White Men are shaking!" and "The police who shot us are shaking!".
Lonmin said only 6.3 percent of its shift workers had reported for work on Monday. This compared with 2 percent on Friday.
Labour unrest fanned in part by glaring income disparities in Africa's largest economy has been spreading from the platinum belt to the gold sector, unnerving investors despite attempts by government officials to reassure them.
Gold Fields last week resolved an illegal strike by 12,000 workers at its KDC East mine, which started because rank and file members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said the union was not defending their interests.
New Strike
On Monday the company reported another unlawful stoppage, this time at its KDC West operation, where 15,000 workers downed tools, shutting production.
Gold Fields said the reasons for the latest strike were unclear but intimidation was being used to keep workers off the job.
"We haven't been given any demands but the pattern is the same as KDC East. It is intimidation. The strikers went around from hostel to hostel yesterday to prevent the others going to work," Gold Fields spokesman Sven Lunsche said.
Gold Fields' share price shed more than 2.5 percent despite gold's spot price holding near 6-1/2 month highs.
In the platinum sector, the labour conflict has had its origins in a turf war for members between the dominant NUM and the more militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which is mounting a challenge.
There is swelling discontent against the NUM among poorly-paid mineworkers who see its leaders as out of touch and too close links to the governing ANC and its political agenda.
The violent rise of AMCU is the most serious challenge to the unwritten pact at the heart of the post-apartheid settlement - that unions aligned to the ANC deliver modestly higher wages for workers, while ensuring labour stability for big business.
Opponents of President Jacob Zuma, particularly Julius Malema, the expelled former leader of the ANC Youth League, are using the labour unrest to attack the record of Zuma's government ahead of a party leadership conference in December.
Lonmin, the world's third largest platinum producer, has had 327 million pounds knocked off its market capitalisation since the strike started.
The price of platinum, used in emissions-capping catalytic converters in cars, has been depressed because of weak demand, but has risen 14 percent since the stoppage began.
Many South African platinum shafts are simply unprofitable and analysts say Lonmin cannot afford the demands made by the 3,000 rock drill operators who started the strike.
They want a basic wage of 12,500 rand a month, more than double what they currently get, and other workers at the bottom of the pay scale are also now demanding similar raises.
[As of this writing, the Rand/Dollar exchange rate is 0.122, which means that 12500 rand is $1525. Which doesn't sound like much for risking your life underground. - MrK]
Labels: MINING, NUM (SA), PLATINUM, STRIKE
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COMMENT - It is the question to ask, however the article doesn't answer the question. Why and who charged the surviving miners under the old 'common cause' laws apartheid was so famous for? Is the ANC sending a message to the business community? If the ANC is behind the prosecution, and not some local prosecutor. The article doesn't say.
Who’s behind the Marikana murder charge?
Posted by: Michael Trapido
Posted on: August 31, 2012
Posted in: News & Politics
The decision to charge the protesting Marikana miners who were arrested by police with the murder of their 34 colleagues who died at the hands of the authorities is patently misguided. In this regard not only will the state’s efforts to prove the necessary dolus required for murder remain elusive but the alleged employment of common purpose as a means of tying everyone together appears to demonstrate ignorance about where this doctrine has application.
This aspect of the charge has been covered elsewhere by colleagues and will not be repeated here, what I would like to question is the motive behind utilising it.
Why charge these protesters with murder?
The answer lies in the impact of the charge rather than any sustainable belief that the state will be able to secure any convictions.
If the Marikana miners are up on a charge of murder their prospects of obtaining bail are drastically reduced. Murder is a Schedule 6 offence requiring the accused to demonstrate exceptional circumstances that make it in the interests of justice that they be given bail.
If the accused fails to discharge that onus he or she could spend years in jail awaiting trial.
As my learned colleagues are aware, multiple accused often means substantial delays in getting to trial. One need only have regard to the Boeremag trial to understand that where you have many accused the task of getting everyone the necessary documents, finalising applications and getting legal teams to agree trial dates is a nightmare.
Where you have over 200 accused it does not bear thinking about.
The questions therefore are why would anyone try to incarcerate these accused for years, over charges which are clearly unsustainable and in respect of which the cost involved in keeping them imprisoned and running a trial of this magnitude appears prohibitive?
If you can answer that then you will also be able to tell us who is the driving force behind the decision to do so.
The fact that the decision was made before the inquiry designed to ascertain what transpired on that terrible day has even begun its work says a lot about vested interests pulling against each other and demonstrates clearly the problems experienced in allowing politicians and others to tamper with the criminal justice system.
Labels: MASSACRE, MINING, STRIKE
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No confirmation of Marikana ultimatum
31 Aug 2012 20:24 - Sapa
The presidency has been unable to confirm whether President Jacob Zuma has received a letter demanding the release of 270 arrested Marikana miners. Jacob Zuma has been asked to release miners by 1pm on Sunday or face an urgent high court application compelling him to release them. (Paul Botes, M&G)
The M&G has been tracking the violence and dissent at platinum mines. Read our coverage on this and the shootings that killed more than 30 at Lonmin. City Press reported on its website that the letter was sent to Zuma on Friday by the miners' lawyers, Maluleke, Msimang and Associates.
Zuma was asked to release the miners by 1pm on Sunday or face an urgent high court application compelling him to release them.
Maluleke, Msimang and Associates reportedly wrote that keeping the miners behind bars was "unlawful".
Justice department spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said this would be an "extraordinary" request.
"If they are adopting that stance, it would be an extraordinary route to explore from a legal point of view," he said.
"We would expect them to approach the courts."
Engaging the NPA
He said Justice Minister Jeff Radebe had not seen or received the letter.
"We'll have to wait and see the contents of the letter, because the minister is engaging with the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] with the view to understand their decisions on the charges."
On August 16, police opened fire on striking workers gathered on a hill near Lonmin's Marikana mine, in North West, killing 34 of them and wounding 78.
Initially, the arrested group was charged with public violence.
On Thursday, the NPA announced they would also face murder and attempted murder charges for the deaths of their colleagues.
The NPA's contentious decision was questioned on Friday.
Radebe said he would seek clarity on the reasons for the move, while legal experts and political parties roundly condemned the decision.
Radebe invoked section 179 (6) of the Constitution, which states that the justice minister "must exercise final responsibility over the prosecuting authority". – Sapa
Labels: MINING, STRIKE
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IMF drops SA growth forecast amid growing labour unrest, joblessness
23 Aug 2012 21:09 - Lynley Donnelly
Increased labour unrest in the face of stubborn unemployment levels was a key risk to South Africa's economic outlook according to the IMF. Increased labour strikes and high unemployment levels has caused the IMF to downgrade South Africa's growth forecast. (Oupa Nkosi, M&G)
But attempts to address unemployment were being hampered by "policies, product market structure, and labour market arrangements that end up protecting insiders at the expense of the unemployed", the International Monetary Fund said in its annual staff report, which followed consultation with the government.
It dropped its economic growth forecast for South Africa to 2.6% of GDP.
The report, released earlier on Thursday, came as the country reels in the wake of a violent dispute between striking miners and police at Lonmin's Marikana mine in North West. A memorial service was held to commemorate the deaths of 34 miners killed in the confrontation a week ago.
The IMF report drew attention to the political significance of the ANC's upcoming elective conference where the party will, along with its alliance partners the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party, choose its next president.
"Impatience with the high structural unemployment, particularly of the young, could lead to inappropriate responses that might threaten macroeconomic stability," it said.
"In addition, adverse external developments and domestic shocks could increase further unacceptably high levels of unemployment."
Slow recovery
South Africa also faced a continued slow recovery from recession, thanks to the ongoing crisis in Europe, with economic growth coming in at below 3%.
But domestic factors had also contributed to this, particularly industrial action in both the mining and manufacturing sectors.
Job creation efforts were being hampered by policy choices, an economy dominated by large oligopolistic firms and an inflexible labour market.
The repeated standoffs between business and labour were costing the economy, according to the report.
"The struggle for dividing rents between highly concentrated, oligopolistic firms and strong and politically influential labour unions has resulted in large economic losses associated with frequent labour strikes," it said.
The IMF welcomed progress made to address market dominance and collusive behaviour by private companies but said penalties for misconduct needed to increase, while product market regulation needed to improve. It included state owned companies in its assessment, saying the government should consider "opening the sector reserved for public enterprises to private sector competition".
Critically more flexible wage bargaining mechanisms were needed especially for small businesses, along with more flexible labour laws and regulations to "improve the business environment and increase employment opportunities, especially for newcomers with limited skills" it said.
Labels: IMF, MASSACRE, MINING, STRIKE
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Malema at Marikana: 'Many will die'
18 Aug 2012 20:21 - Phillip De Wet
Julius Malema has told striking Marikana mine workers that they should die for their cause, and urged other mineworkers to join them. Julius Malema wasn't pulling punches, when he spoke to several thousand Marikana mineworkers on Saturday. President Jacob Zuma should step down, he said, as should Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
ANC National Executive Committee member Cyril Ramaphosa came in for a drubbing as well – with the implication that he was partially responsible for the deaths of the strikers killed this week. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) were sellouts, he said, and police had no excuse for using live ammunition.
And he was clear on what should happen next.
"You must never retreat, even in the face of death," he told the gathering, not far from the koppie where 34 had died only days before.
"Many people will die as we struggle for economic freedom." He called on other miners, especially in the surrounding area, to join in solidarity strikes (warning that they could be the next to die if they don't) and told the Marikana group that their calls for wage increases from around R5 000 a month to R12 500, were fully legitimate.
And although he did not endorse new union, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), in so many words, he had nothing but scorn for the NUM.
"NUM is a former union… From a militant union… We want leaders who will not sell you out," Malema said.
Anti-Zuma politicking
Police, Malema said, should not have had automatic weapons on the scene of the protest on Thursday afternoon, when 34 people were killed.
And even if strikers did fire at the police first, the police should not have fired back.
He dismissed outright any suggestion that the police had acted in self-defence and had reason to fear the armed workers, saying the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) had marched with similar weapons for years without getting shot.
But it was to Jacob Zuma that he returned time and time again. Zuma, Malema said, had told police to use maximum force. "From today, when asked 'who is your president', you must say 'I don't have a president'," he urged the group.
The speech was well received, even though Malema spoke mostly in English, and members of the crowd subsequently said they largely agreed with his sentiments, though some were weary of his anti-Zuma stance as politicking.
Some in the crowd were armed with pangas and spears, and a police helicopter kept a close eye on proceedings initially, but police did not intervene, apart from sending a small delegation to speak to Malema.
Neither Malema nor the police would say what had been discussed, but Malema later told the crowd that he had told the police to stay away because they were not needed.
After the speech, a group of men moved towards the koppie, that has been at the centre of events all week, but soon dispersed.
A group of women gathered at a nearby crossroads to face off to police guarding the Lonmin mine, and demand the release of strikers still being held in custody.
"These police must give us back our men," said one, who declined to give her name. "They're keeping our people in prison so they can't come back and demand their rights."
The miners intend to meet again on Monday, to discuss the strike.
Labels: ANC, ANC YOUTH LEAGUE, CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, JULIUS MALEMA, MINING, STRIKE
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Law must take its course on anyone who started the riots that resulted in death of a Chinese national-Sakeni
TIME PUBLISHED - Sunday, August 5, 2012, 6:46 pm
Chief Government Spokesperson, Kennedy Sakeni, has said that the law must take its course on anyone who will be found guilty of causing the riots that resulted in the death of the Chinese national at Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe yesterday.
Mr Sakeni, who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister said that the issue of minimum wages allows employers and employees a platform and time to dialogue amicably without violence.
He said that there is no need for the miners to go to such extremes as to shed blood on a fellow worker over an issue which is clear and open for dialogue.
Mr Sakeni has urged the Ministry of Labour and law agencies to deal with the case decisively and leave no stone unturned until all those found wanting are brought to book.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) has condemned the killing of a Chinese miner at the embattled Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe.
NUMAW president Mundia Sikufele said that despite his organisation not having membership at the mine, the killing was barbaric and sends a wrong picture about Zambia to the outside world.
ZANIS reports that Mr Sikufele said that the incident shows the need for people to always embrace dialogue whenever they are grieved.
He explained that people should always aim at exhausting the good communication channels rather than engaging in violent activities that could lead to lose of lives.
Mr Sikufele has noted that what the miners did yesterday is disturbing to the labour Movement; hence stringent measures should be taken to ensure that such an incident does not repeat itself in future.
Yesterday a Chinese miner, Wu Shengzai aged, 50, was killed while another is battling for his life after other miners, particularly Zambians, rioted to protest against delays by management to effect the newly revised minimum wage payment.
The deceased died on the spot after being hit by a trolley that was pushed towards him by the rioting miners as he ran away into the underground tunnel where he wanted to seek refuge.
And Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda immediately called for thorough investigations into the killing of a Chinese national. Mr Shamenda has regretted that the riots had led to loss of life and described it as unfortunate and regrettable.
Mr Shamenda has wondered why the embattled Collumn Coal Mine continues to be a spot of tension between Zambian workers and Chinese investors. Mr Shamenda has since urged the workers to avoid taking the law into their own hands.
He said that the sad development at the mine should serve as a lesson for all workers and employers to follow the normal channel of communication. Mr. Shamenda who has since traveled to the Mine was speaking in an interview with TV2 News prior to his departure from Lusaka.
Mr Shamenda also said that Government was working out measures to ensure that the hike in the minimum wage does not become a source of industrial protests. Mr Shamenda said that protests and work stoppages negatively affect governments revenue collection.
Labels: CHINESE COLLUM COAL MINE, KENNEDY SAKENI, STRIKE
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A Chinese miner killed by Zambian employees in a minimum wage riot
TIME PUBLISHED - Sunday, August 5, 2012, 1:03 pm
A Chinese miner at the embattled Colum Coal mine in Sinazongwe has been killed by Zambian miners in a riot while another one is battling for his life in Mamba hospital.
ZANIS’s Mike Munkombwe Reports that The miners rioted on Saturday to protest against delays by management to implement the newly revised minimum wage. Southern province deputy Police Commissioner Fred Mutondo has confirmed the killing of the Chinese national BUT could not give further details on the matter.
And Sinazongwe district commissioner Dodo Sindaza and Sinazongwe area member of parliament Richwell Siamunene have also confirmed the killing in separate interviews.
Mr Sindaza has identified the deceased as Wu Shengzai aged, 50.
The deceased died on the spot after being hit by a trolley that was pushed towards him by the rioting miners as he ran away into the underground where he wanted to seek refuge.
The miners who refused to work had mobilized themselves and started beating up fellow miners found working.
Mr Lungu said that there will be no sacred cows in enforcing the law and appealed for maximum restraint from workers and employers as government re-visits issues surrounding the revised minimum wage.
And Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu has said that Zambian miners that have killed a Chinese national at the Collumn Coal Mine in Sinazongwe will be prosecuted.
Mr Lungu said that there will be no sacred cows in enforcing the law and appealed for maximum restraint from workers and employers as government re-visits issues surrounding the revised minimum wage. Mr Lungu was speaking in an interview with ZNBC news in LUSAKA on yesterday.
Meanwhile, Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda has called for a thorough investigation into the matter saying the murder is unfortunate and regrettable. Mr Shamenda has wondered why the embattled Collumn Coal mine continues to be a place of tension between Zambian workers and Chinese investors.
ZANIS
Labels: CHINESE COLLUM COAL MINE, MINIMUM WAGE, STRIKE
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Kansanshi mine demands for $20million from 2 Solwezi residents
TIME PUBLISHED - Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 2:24 pm
KANSANSHI Mining PLC is demanding for US$20 million from two Solwezi residents and others who allegedly incited mine employees to go on an illegal strike which resulted in loss of business.
The $20 million was for damages and loss of business resulting from the four-day alleged premature and illegal strike action early this year.
The mining company has dragged Benson Ngambo, Yobe Banda and others to court demanding for compensation for loss of business which the company endured when the duo allegedly induced and influenced employees to undertake an illegal strike action.
According to a statement of claim filed before the Lusaka High Court, Kansanshi Mining stated that Ngambo, Banda and others allegedly induced, persuaded and procured its employees to breach the contracts of employment by influencing a strike action which resulted in the loss of business.
The company stated that Ngambo, who claimed to have been a representative of Government and Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), together with Banda and others on March 1, 2012 induced Kansanshi mining employees to go on a strike action contrary to the provisions of the Industrial and Labour Relations Act chapter 269 of the Laws of Zambia.
It stated that on the material day, Ngambo addressed the employees and made a call for them to participate in a strike action and picketing around the company premises.
The company said the move taken by Ngambo, Banda and others was a breach of its employees’ employment contracts as the strike was unlawful and illegal.It said the duo and others influenced the employees to physically ban the way of persons and motor vehicles trying to enter and leave the mining area while they intimidated and harassed drivers.
Kansanshi Mining claimed that the striking employees barred heavy duty vehicles loaded with various merchandise from delivering in and out of the mining area, a move that caused lossof business not only to it but third parties as well.
It stated that because of the same, Kansanshi Mining lost approximately $5 million per day in revenue.
The company, which had initially jointly sued 14 of its former employees and later filed a notice of discontinuation against them, had also sought an injunction restraining further striking, which was granted.
The matter is being handled by High Court Judge Dominic Sichinga who has set September 20, 2012 as the date for commencement of trial.
[Times of Zambia]
Labels: KANSANSHI MINING PLC, STRIKE, ZCTU
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UNZA lecturers end srike
By Allan Mulenga
Wed 02 May 2012, 09:10 CAT
UNZA lecturers and researchers have with immediate effect suspended their go-slow to allow management and the government to engage into a collective bargaining process. In an interview yesterday, University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) president Dr Euston Chiputa said union members had a meeting where they agreed to go back to work.
"We have actually suspended the go-slow to give the government and management enough time to negotiate meaningful salary increase which we will be agreed upon on Wednesday. Then Thursday, management should be able to consolidate and present it to the government," Dr Chiputa said.
He said the union was expectant that the government would approve the proposed salary adjustments that would be presented to them.
"We are expectant that by 14th May 2012, the government should be able to get back and say this is what has been approved from what will be proposed because it's the government which said ‘put down your proposals, consolidate them and submit them to the government'.
We are expectant that since it is the government which proposed the road map and what should be factored in, they will be able to provide the funding. We don't see why the government should not come round and meet the proposed increases because they will be in line with what the government has guided us," said Dr Chiputa.
Last Monday, UNZA lecturers and researchers resolved to go on a go-slow pressing the government to remove the four per cent salary negotiation ceiling for grant-aided institutions.
Labels: EUSTON CHIPUTA, STRIKE, UNZA
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Kansanshi loses $25 million in strike
TIME PUBLISHED - Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 8:56 am
First Quantum Minerals
FIRST Quantum Minerals Limited says the company has lost over US$25 million in revenue through the five-day strike action by miners who were demanding improved conditions of service. The mine says the company has been losing US$5 million per day in revenue and in excess of US$1.5 million per day in taxes to government.
“Management reiterates its regret that the illegal work stoppage has caused great losses to the Zambian economy. These losses have an adverse effect on all stakeholders, employees, government and all Zambians,” the mining giant said in statement released yesterday.
The statement says management is committed to ensuring a speedy resolution of the dispute with unions and has initiated the required process provided for by the laws of Zambia.
The company has urged everyone to remain calm and exercise restraint to allow for the dispute to be decided by competent authorities.
“We request that the union recognises the due legal process and encouraged its members to return to work,” the company said. The company warned employees of disciplinary action.
The company also warned that management will ensure that legal and civil action is taken against anyone who engages in acts of intimidation or who willfully encourages or exacerbates the initiation or extension of work stoppage.
First Quantum Minerals Limited are the owners of Kansanshi Copper and Gold Mine in Solwezi, the biggest copper producer in the country. Miners at the mine have been on strike, which entered its fifth day yesterday.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Labels: KANSANSHI MINING PLC, MINING, STRIKE
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Kansanshi mine strike is illegal says FQM
TIME PUBLISHED - Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 2:32 pm
First Quantum Minerals says the strike action by miners at its Kansanshi mine in Solwezi is illegal.
Workers at the Kansanshi mine, Zambia’s largest copper mine which produced 231,000 tonnes of the red metal in 2010, downed tools on Tuesday demanding 100 percent pay rises and bringing production to a halt.
Company spokesperson Godfrey Msiska says there was no deadlock reached and as far as the management is concerned the strike is illegal.
He confirmed that the strike action by the workers has entered the second day today, with workers blocking the gate to the mine plant.
Mr Msiska has appealed to union officials to convince the workers to go back to work so that negotiations, which had been suspended because of the strike, could resume.
[Reuters]
Labels: FIRST QUANTUM MINING, GODFREY MSISKA, KANSANSHI MINING PLC, MINING, STRIKE
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Striking Kawambwa Tea workers demand salaries before resuming work
By Kabanda Chulu
Mon 19 Dec. 2011, 13:58 CAT
WORKERS at Kawambwa Tea Company, who downed tools last October after Zesco disconnected power to the factory, have vowed never to return to work until management settles the 40 months salary arrears amounting to K1.3 billion.
And the Luena Farm Block in Kawambwa risked becoming a ‘non-starter' national project following government's inconsistency in funding the implementation of developmental projects.
The over 400 workers who gathered at the tea estate and factory on Saturday, told finance deputy minister Alfreda Mwamba that government should repossess the company or find another investor who should meet people's aspirations.
Since 2002, Kawambwa Tea Company has been owned by Kulmul Holdings of Zimbabwe, but the workers said the tea estate had been turned into a ‘modern day slave trade centre'.
"We have suffered a lot and these people don't mean well. They don't provide us with protective clothing and we have not been paid for 39 months. So we don't want to work with them anymore, let them pay us our money and bring in fellow Zimbabweans," Mathews Chewe said on behalf of the workers.
He said the investor's failure to pay the K90.6 million Zesco bills had resulted in disconnection of electricity supply to the entire plant and estate area including housing units.
"We walk 35 kilometers to grind maize because there is no electricity to power our hammer mills. We have sold our bicycles in order to meet basic needs and our children cannot go to school because we have no money and we don't have access to clean water since boreholes are not working," said Chewe.
Earlier, Kawambwa District Commissioner Mwita Kasengele said the company had been experiencing serious challenges that resulted in the entity to be placed on receivership.
"But management went to court and obtained an injunction which allowed the investors to continue running operations but ordered them to pay workers within five months beginning last November," Kasengele said.
Kasengele also said that very little had been done in implementation of activities in the Luena Farm Block.
"We have never received substantial amounts to make big impact and the little funding (K500 million) received went towards surveying, planning and sensitisation activities," he said.
Mwamba assured that government would talk to Zesco to find a solution especially that households of people were affected.
"We are constrained to talk about this matter since it is in court but government shall do everything possible to change people's livelihoods and it is unacceptable for people to stay for many months without being paid," said Mwamba.
"I am going to explain your plight to my Minister and the President and soon government will act since we are a working administration."
Labels: ALFRED MWAMBA, KAWAMBWA TEA COMPANY, LABOUR, STRIKE
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