181 strike deaths over last 13 years
2013-01-21 13:14
Johannesburg - A total of 181 people have been killed in
strike violence in the past 13 years, according to figures compiled by the SA
Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR).
"The greatest number of fatalities occurred in 1999,
2006, and 2012 with 30, 69 and 60 deaths respectively," the SAIRR said on
Monday.
The deaths in 1999 were high because of a dispute between
the National Union of Mineworkers, the United Workers' Union of SA and the
United Democratic Movement.
In 2006, a security guard strike between March and May
accounted for a high number of deaths. Non-striking guards and on-duty guards
were attacked and some were thrown off moving trains, the SAIRR said.
The deaths in 2012 were a result of strikes in the mining
sector. The worst was the 16 August shooting at the Lonmin Platinum Mine in
Marikana in the North West where 34 miners were killed.
The SAIRR said the figures were compiled using print media
reports.
From January 1999 to October 2012, about 313 people had been
injured during strikes and more than 3 058 arrested.
Boitumelo Sethlatswe, a SAIRR researcher said:
"Although the figures may not be exhaustive they indicate how strike
action in South Africa is often characterised by violence.
"Fatalities were most often the result of clashes
between police and strikers, between striking and non-striking workers, and
between rival unions."
- SAPA
