Keyword: AMCU

On Strikes and Violence in South Africa

Picture: Police attack demonstration during the 2006 South African security guards strike courtesy Derek Blackadder/SATAWU/flickr. Mohamed Motala - In recent years, strikes in South Africa have become turbulent. Today the Farlam Commission is hearing evidence of the 2012 strike on the platinum belt that was characterised by extreme use of violence on all sides. Mining companies, Lonmin, AngloPlat and Implats, assisted by the South African police, displayed aggressive behaviour towards striking mineworkers, which resulted in an elaborate show of force culminating in the biggest post-apartheid massacre in the history of South Africa....