In a democratic South Africa, the government allows citizens to express dissatisfaction through peaceful demonstrations. Workers are also allowed by legislations to embark on strikes when disputes with their employers arises. As often in the mining sector the conflict primarily concern wages and housing. On the 14 September 2017 over 3 000 Exxaro Grootegeluk mine workers went on strike. These mine workers belong to National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). They demand salary increase of 10%. The strike led to the mine suspending mining operation on the Friday 15th September.
As South African we all agree that the mining industry needs to transform so that the industry can be able to address many of the inequalities in the mining and minerals sector. The workers and the immediate communities must be the first beneficiaries of this minerals. The demands by the striking Grootegeluk workers are realistic and affordable. Grootegeluk is one of the big coal mining companies in Southern Africa, it currently supplies Matimba and Medupi power stations with coal. At this stage in time we have to ask ourselves whose reality determines the real world? The coal giant is offering salary increase in three categories, 7.5% , 8.5% and 10% for lower grade whereas the employees want 10% across. These workers are fighting for a living wage as the costs are rising everyday, the mining bosses do not live in a different world, they live here with us, exposed to the same costs. A living wage is a social necessity. Putting money in the hands of the populace, instead of into the pockets of the few wealthy local and international shareholders, would greatly spur domestic demands. What the strike thrown into sharp relief is the need for both improved wages and conditions and managed , orderly restructuring of the sector. It speaks to the realities of the current moment. Workers are determined to face immense financial setback and extreme hunger fighting for wage increase. During this wage revolution the lives of the mineworkers is worth nothing to the employers who are able to prolong the strikes in an attempt to suffocate the workers and their dependants, as the principle of no work on pay applies but soon or later they will look back at this and say we have done it. This is true demonstration that mineworkers are not idiots. They are not a generation of their fathers, they cannot afford to face the same hardship as their fathers. They want to make working in the mine fashionable and attractive. On the other hand AMCU and Solidarity representing fewer that 30% of the workers in the company will be bound by the collective agreement reached by the majority union, NUM. The majority principle which gives a majority union the right to conclude labour agreements applies. Solidarity is a white dominated union. AMCU which is seen as NUM rival embarked on a recruitment drive but the success of NUM wage negotiations is likely to count against them.
Sometimes the management have to be tough on negotiations because if they give in on wage above a certain level eventually they are going to price themselves out of business. This is causing tensions in the mining sector, the stakes are high and the need for resolution is urgent. One can argue that strikes are a means of liberating the workers from oppression, miners have no other tools they can use against the employer because government policies are being weakened by corruption. Since 1994 we have seen a number of mining charter documents but the implementation is very slow. We need radical economic transformation to realise this objectives. The state must intervene in the mining sector.