North West - Miners at the Lonmin mine in Marikana, North West, have threatened to down tools and “return to the mountain” after mine bosses allegedly reneged on their promise of a 22 percent pay increase.
The miners also accused the employers of breaching their promise of a 22 percent once-off bonus payment after they had ended their protracted strike in August.
They alleged that Lonmin had “unfairly and fraudulently” deducted the money paid as a bonus.
“If they don’t pay us, we will strike again in January and go back to that mountain. They are taking us for granted,” said Tholakele Dlunga, a rock drill operator who has worked at Lonmin for eight years.
He said miners who received a gross salary of more than R11 000 were left with about R7 000 after deductions while those earning R9 000 were left with R6 000.
“They are using a confusing deduction (system). They are taking us for granted. This (increase) is not what we hoped for,” Dlunga said.
He alleged that Lonmin had paid the miners the R2 000 bonus as a condition of ending the strike, but that this amount was later docked from their wages.
“We asked the bosses to pay us our (outstanding) money by the end of November. All we got was promises, promises. We feel painful.”
Another miner said workers had been paid between 12 per-cent and 16 percent, which he described as “an insult” to the 22 percent increase promised.
“Before deductions, we get a basic salary of R5 700 as compared to R4 600 before. We also get R1 950 living allowances, which is a R100 increase.
“How is that 22 percent?” asked the miner, who asked that he not be named.
The Benchmark Foundation on Tuesday expressed its concern over allegations that the agreed 22 percent pay rise was paid only for the first month after the strike and then stopped.
The organisation also condemned the deductions of the “return to work bonus… as if it was a loan”.
“Failure to honour the agreement reached with the workers will mean exposing the company to the imminent risk of new strikes,” said David van Wyk, the foundation’s senior researcher.
He also called on Lonmin to pay compensation to the families of the dead or wounded miners and to continue to provide the survivors with trauma counselling.
Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey denied that the company had reneged on its promise. She said the current wage structure was part of an amended deal signed by the workers’ union in September.
“The main features of the agreement included a signing bonus of R2 000 and an average rise in the overall package of between 11 and 22 percent for all employees falling between category 3 to 8,” she said.
She blamed the media for reporting on the 22 percent increase.
“In the absence of any context, this figure is misleading and has contributed to widespread confusion,” said Vey.
The Star