Pretoria - North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo has condemned the alleged petrol bombing of two houses belonging to miners in Sekile, outside Rustenburg.
“Acts of violence and intimidation targeted at non-striking workers and destruction of private and public properties call for parties involved in the wage dispute to bring the protracted strike to an end,” Premier Mahumapelo said on Thursday.
He appealed to communities in the platinum belt to exercise restraint and to assist police in their investigations to ensure that those behind the senseless violence are behind bars.
According to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the houses belonging to their members were petrol bombed on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Premier Mahumapelo has welcomed the establishment of a mediation panel -- set up by new Mineral Resources Minster Ngoako Ramatlhodi -- to try to break the four-month deadlock between the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and platinum producers after the Labour Court process collapsed earlier in the week.
The team, announced this week, is made up of officials from the Departments of Mineral Resources, Labour and Treasury. It will be supported by representatives from the mining companies and Amcu.
The panel was set up after Minister Ramatlhodi on Wednesday met with labour and thereafter with executives of Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin.
Amcu members at Lonmin, Impala Platinum, and Anglo American Platinum downed tools on January 23, demanding a basic monthly salary of R12 500.
They rejected an offer by the companies that would bring their pay to R12 500 by 2017.
The renewed talks came as firms reported billions of rands in lost revenue and wages due to the stoppages, contributing to a contraction in the country's economy in the first quarter of the year. – SAnews.gov.za
