December 04, 2008

South African mining union plans safety strike on December 4th 2007

Reuter reported that South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers plans to ask its members to down tools on December 4th 2007 to protest against a spate of deaths in the country’s mines. The strike would mark the first total shutdown of all mines in South Africa in some 20 years and be the first nation wide protest on safety issues.

Mr Senzeni Zokwana president of National Union of Mineworkers unveiled the date of the planned action in a speech at a congress of global miners unions being held in Thailand.

National Union of Mineworkers officials said a permit for the strike had not been granted yet, but that a meeting between mining companies, the union and an arbitration authority that has the mandate to give the go ahead for the strike would be held on November 27th 2007.