Police disarm Amplats strikers
2012-09-26 14:31
Rustenburg - Traffic on the Rustenburg Marikana road was temporarily interrupted when the police disarmed a group of striking Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) workers from the Jabula shaft on Wednesday.
The workers were marching to the Bleskop stadium, outside Rustenburg, where a mass meeting was being held. They were armed with sticks and knobkerries.
The police stopped them 200m from the stadium and ordered them to leave their weapons behind.
The group sang liberation songs and dropped their weapons as they marched to the stadium.
Police collected the sticks and knobkerries and put them into a police van. They said this was in line with an order that workers were not supposed to carry dangerous weapons.
The Amplats workers went on a wildcat strike two weeks ago, demanding a monthly salary of almost R17 000.
Leaders were in a caucus meeting at noon and are expected to address the striking workers soon.
- SAPA
