Wage talks with representatives of Lonmin miners are to continue today with the possibility of a settlement being reached soon. Zolani Bhodlane, a spokesman for and member of the workers’ committee, told reporters yesterday that a compromise had been reached with the strikers maybe open to reducing their demand for salaries from R12 500 to R11 000.
Following this news Lonmin shares climbed by 6.1% to R86.97 yesterday.
Bhodlane declined to provide any further details, explaining detailed comment would unnecessarily jeopardise further negotiations.
More than 5000 miners met at the Wonderkop stadium in Marikana yesterday to plot the way forward. An attempt by former ANC Youth League president Julius Malema to address the crowd was thwarted by the police and army personnel and he and his body guards were sent packing as the clampdown announced by President Jacob Zuma last Friday was maintained.
Malema has accused Zuma for the killing of 34 strking Lonmin miners on August 16 while the government has accused Malema of inciting violence after calling for a nationwide strike and for the mines to be made ungovernable until the leaders of the ANC-aligned Nation al Union of Mineworkers step down.
Yesterday, Lonmin revealed it had scrapped a performance scheme that awarded shares to senior executive, including CE Ian Farmer. It also terminated an engineering contract for one of its shafts which will affect about 1 200 Murray & Roberts contract workers from October 17.
Last night, in a congress declaration, Cosatu called for a second commission of enquiry to run parallel to the judicial enquiry to investigate miners’ working and social conditions and “the facts around what happened at Marikana”.
