By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Striking members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have disrupted Cosatu’s May Day Rally in Rustenburg, North West.
The workers, who have been striking at Sibanye-Stillwater demanding an increase of R1,000 a month, have refused to be addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of not caring about the poor and working class.
The angry workers want government to intervene to end the strike at the mine that started last month.
Chaos broke out when the workers stormed the main stage at Royal Bafokeng Stadium, where Ramaphosa was set to offer message of support at Cosatu’s International Workers’ Day rally.
This led to a scuffle between the workers and the police’s public order members.
As a result, Ramaphosa and the Cosatu leadership left the stadium and this is not the first time that the president couldn’t deliver a message of support, In 2017 former president Jacob Zuma was barred from addressing the workers in Bloemfotein. The workers demanded the former president to be removed as the president.
The celebrations were scheduled to start at nine o’clock this morning but they have been delayed as there only a few workers in the stadium.
A strike at the gold mines of Sibanye-Stillwater is now into a third month after unions rejected the firm’s improved wage increase offer tabled earlier in April.
Sibanye-Stillwater amended its previous final offer to an increase of R850 more per month for entry-level Category 4 miners for each of the three years of the proposed agreement. The offer amounted to a 7.8% increase to the basic wage in year one, 7.2% in year two and 6.8% in year three.
The increase the mining group’s wage bill by R1.67bn over the three-year period, excluding concessions made for non-wage demands. The South African Reserve Bank has forecast a headline inflation rate of 5.8% for 2022.
Workers are adamant that they want a R1,000 increase, a R100 increase in living-out allowance, and a 6% wage increase for miners, artisans and officials.
Meanwhile the veteran trade unionist and former president Kgalema Motlanthe believes there is a future for trade unions in South Africa, as some workers still experience hardships in their employment.
Speaking on the debut of eNCA’s programme titled “On the spot with Lukhona Mnguni” on Workers’ Day, Motlanthe said trade unions would always play a role in organised labour.
He said trade unions played an important role in bringing balance “to a system that is dominated by corporates”.
While negotiations for wage increases can sometimes prove fruitful, employers make up that money by placing it onto the consumers, he added.
“The system is designed so that there is this upwards mobility or chain reaction. Yes, the workers get the increase but the cost of living, that food basket also increases, “Motlanthe pointed out.
He added that for as long as there is a need to negotiate wage increases and ensure a worker is treated fairly and paid accordingly, there is a need for trade unions.
While discussing the state of organised labour in the country, Motlanthe said union leaders sometimes find themselves negotiating and ensuring their own packages were acceptable, before focusing on the needs of the workers.
“It’s those branch leaders that get too comfortable and then start sorting out their own packages before getting the mandate from the workers.
“There is still a future for organised labour, but it is completely hopeless when it comes to creating equitable distribution,” Motlanthe said.
He also told Mnguni that workers need to be independent of political parties, and more united.