Johannesburg - North West police on Tuesday appealed to
political parties to stop fuelling tensions in the platinum belt.
"EFF leader [Julius Malema] said miners should
intensify their strike. People should be cautious of the statements they
make," said spokesperson Brigadier Thulane Ngubane.
"This country is not a banana republic. It's a state
with laws and those laws must be respected. We are going to have a zero
tolerance approach to anyone who breaks the law."
Those miners who wanted to return to work were escorted
by police on Tuesday and no violence was reported.
EFF's spokesperson Mboyiseni Ndlozi said the party would
not apologise for the statements.
"We don't apologise for the statements we made while
addressing the miners. We encourage the miners and the unions not to sell-out.
We are the only party that is encouraging the employees and employers to do
what is right," said Ndlozi.
On Tuesday the EFF said it would donate R50 000 to the
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union's (Amcu) strike fund. It was
created to help platinum mineworkers who have been on a wage strike since 23 January.
"The EFF calls on all South Africans and the
international community to also contribute in solidarity with workers,"
said Ndlozi.
Amcu members at Lonmin, Impala Platinum, and Anglo
American Platinum operations in Rustenburg, North West, and at Northam in
Limpopo downed tools demanding a basic monthly salary of R12 500.
The strike has cost the companies about R14.4bn in
revenue and workers have lost over R6.4bn in earnings.
Implats spokesperson Johan Theron said all operations
remained closed at their mine.
"Our mine remains closed at the moment. The only
staff that is working is the essential staff such as security, maintenance
workers and hospital staff."
Lonmin has given a deadline of 14 May for employees to
return to work.
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa told SABC news he could
not take the blame for violence in the platinum belt.
"I don't take any blame. Why should I shoulder the
blame? The point is clear since the start of the strike we said to the workers,
those who are not members of Amcu, should go freely."
He told the broadcaster he was not accountable for the
violence in Rustenburg.
"The violence in Rustenburg has not started in 2012
or 2014. We've got nothing to do with that. Police must do their work," he
said.
Ongoing violence
On Monday National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) regional
secretary Sydwell Dolokwana blamed Amcu members for the death of three miners.
Two were killed at the weekend and another on Monday.
"We blame Amcu for the deaths because [they]
intimidated our members who wanted to go to work on Monday," Dolokwana
said.
He said Lonmin was also to blame.
"Our employer urged workers to report for duty on
Monday and they could not even ensure the safety of the workers."
Fears of friction between strikers and miners wishing to
resume work arose when Amcu objected to employers approaching miners with their
wage offer directly in a bid to end the strike.
Implats, Lonmin, and Amplats have called on Amcu to
exercise responsible leadership and to protect the rights of those who wanted
to work.
"We recognise the right to strike as a fundamental
right of employees, a right which has been respected throughout the
dispute," they said.
"But we have a responsibility to communicate
directly with our employees... our employees wish to return to work, but have
expressed a fear of continued intimidation and violence."
