Reuters reports that a wildcat strike at Sibanye Gold’s Cooke operations west of Johannesburg continued on Sunday and 138 illegal miners there have been arrested since the stoppage began on Tuesday.
A company spokesman said the strike, which has seen 16 miners assaulted in a wave of intimidation, was triggered by worker anger at a company drive to root out illegal miners (zama zamas), which has included the arrest of employees for collusion and a policy that forbids food in underground operations. The Cooke mines have been at the centre of illicit activities at Sibanye’s operations. Sibanye has vowed it will clear all illegal miners from its shafts by January 2018. The Cooke operations, which employ almost 4,000 underground miners, are marginal and Sibanye said their viability was at risk if the strike became prolonged.
- Read this report by Ed Stoddard in full at BusinessLive
- See too, Violence, wildcat strike hits Sibanye Gold’s Cooke operation, at eNCA
- And also, Cooke-werkers staak oor zama-zamas, at Netwerk24 (limit on access)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page