2023-10-25 23:32:00
In South Africa, miners stuck underground by a strike finally came out on Wednesday. 562 miners were trapped underground on the instructions of a union which is fighting to be officially represented by the company which operates the gold mine, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. This union was talking about a sit-in, but the competing union, the police and the company denounced it as a hostage-taking.
Published on: 10/26/2023 – 01:32
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With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Roman Song
The miners began to lack water and food, suffer from stress and fatigue. Their return to the surface does not mark the end of the union conflict but everyone is relieved.
On television, we could see a woman take her brother in her arms and wait for her husband to come back up after spending nearly 72 hours underground. The 562 miners returned and the director of the Gold One mine, Jonathan Hericourt, was relieved: “ We were in a situation that could have gone very badly and we are really happy to have resolved it and that everyone came back safely. It took a long time and I know people suffered, they’re going to need time to get over it ».
AMCU, the union fighting to be recognized, should continue to lead its fight with the company. Joseph Mathunjwa, the head of this union, contacted by RFI, said he had no control over what happens in the Gold One mine. He also said he was worried about the health of the miners.
The rivalry between AMCU and the NUM union, the management’s interlocutor and reputed to be close to employers, took a dramatic turn in 2012 during the Marikana massacre where the police shot 34 miners. The outcome here is not the same but it is also the memory of this tragedy which has come to the surface.
Read also South Africa: more than 500 miners stuck underground because of a union conflict
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