A nine-week strike has reportedly brought platinum production in South Africa to its knees. This is what the mine managers say, according to which the damage caused by the mobilization would be "irreparable" and the cost to the sector would reach one billion dollars. The BBC reports it today.
Anglo American Platinum, Lonmin and Impala Platinum miners protest low wages and demand a doubling of wages. But the companies in question say they cannot afford to meet workers' demands.
“The mines and wells are becoming impassable. People are hungry. The children no longer go to school. Businesses are closing and crime is on the rise,” the companies said in a joint statement.
The mining sector reportedly lost "around 10 billion rand (920 million euros) in revenues," they added.
The miners - reports the BBC - would have been forced to sell their livestock to compensate for their wages, which - adding up the tens of thousands of workers - amount to 406 million dollars.
Local businesses have experienced a sharp decline in trade and large numbers of migrant workers have had to return home.
The confrontation between the unions and the 3 main platinum producers has stalled. Miners' representatives are calling for the minimum wage to be raised to $1155 over a 4-year period. Anglo American Platinum said this would represent an annual increase of 29%, a cost the group described as "unsustainable". The companies said they were willing to negotiate, but "within reasonable margins".
The strike is the largest since Apartheid and has affected 40% of global platinum production.
It's all happening as South Africa experiences a slowdown in economic growth, with one in four citizens out of work.
And the clouds on the horizon are even darker. The companies in the mining sector have made it known that they intend to restructure in the long term and to proceed with job cuts in an industry that employs more than 100 people.
“Unfortunately – the companies declared – given that the industry is moving towards ever greater mechanization and specialization, in order to have more earnings and more productivity, the number of workers is destined to drop”.
