Growing Labor Unrest in South Africa’s Mining Industry: Anglo American Threatens to Cut 14,000 Jobs

Growing labor unrest in the mining industry prompts retaliation from capital

A major struggle is unfolding in the Republic of South Africa with the recent announcement that the Anglo American Platinum Corporation (Amplats) will lay-off thousands of its workers. Amplats is the world’s largest producer of platinum where in South Africa the country has deposits of 80 percent of world’s known reserves of this strategic mineral.

After opposition to these plans from the African National Congress (ANC) government and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the largest trade union federation in the country, Amplats reduced the number of proposed job cuts to 6,000. The planned downsizing could very easily trigger a new round of labor unrest which could potentially shut down production throughout the entire industry.

Amplats claims that wildcat and official strikes during 2012 caused 70 percent of all mines to operate at a loss. In August of 2012, strikes and other violence in the Rustenburg area at the Lonmin facilities resulted in the deaths of 44 people, including 34 miners gunned down by the police at Marikana.

Militant actions by workers in 2012 prompted salary increases and pledges by the mining bosses to improve conditions of employment. Many within South Africa believe that these pronouncements by the mine owners are designed to discourage demands for higher wages and for the companies to re-invest in approving the communities surrounding the facilities.

According to the Globe and Mail, “The decision is expected to cut production by about 250,000 ounces at the Amplats mines next year – about 11 per cent of its total production – and it will be followed by further cuts of 100,000 ounces in following years. Three mine shafts in the Rustenburg area will be idled. The restructuring of its mining operations will cost the company about $250-million (U.S.).” (May 10)

The COSATU leadership has declared that it will not take these threats by Amplats without a response. Another rival union which has made headway in the industry, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), is also pledging to take industrial action in response to the proposed job losses.

“It is a spit in the face to the workers and people of South Africa,” said Patrick Craven, spokesman for the Congress of South African Trade Unions. “Thousands of families face losing their only breadwinner, and communities around the mines and in far-flung rural areas will be devastated.” (COSATU Statement, May 10)

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This article originally appeared on : Global Research