bricolage
24th June 2014, 09:05
The longest ever strike in South African history has come to an end. After five months workers in the platinum sector and AMCU have called a victory with a phased in wage increase to R12 500. I think this is a massive event for a number of reasons:
- Workers have, in many ways, won the demand that they were two years ago massacred for at Marikana. State violence does not always win.
- AMCU has won far more than the NUM ever could - new forms of worker organisation are outstripping the established unions and their state ties.
- Strikes can evidently still produce strong material gains. In this case it was done against a backdrop of being attacked by nearly every political party and in workers being forced to directly face the former liberation movement of the ANC. Like state violence, emotional blackmail does not always win.
However.
- It is not an immediate increase to R12 500 and instead: "Lonmin’s lower band workers would receive R1 000 annual increases each for three years, while Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum workers on the same levels would receive R1 000 increases for the first two years before receiving R950 in the last year." Mathunjwa of AMCU has said "Only a fool can ask us what happened to our R12 500 demand" but their still could be strong questions.
- Other demands such as an end to criminal proceedings and a moratorium on retrenchments were not achieved. AMCU does not seem to accept any criticism of itself here - a sign that, after all, it is just a union?
- The platinum sector will inevitably try to claw back this victory.
- No similar gains were made in gold mines.
Any thoughts?
- Workers have, in many ways, won the demand that they were two years ago massacred for at Marikana. State violence does not always win.
- AMCU has won far more than the NUM ever could - new forms of worker organisation are outstripping the established unions and their state ties.
- Strikes can evidently still produce strong material gains. In this case it was done against a backdrop of being attacked by nearly every political party and in workers being forced to directly face the former liberation movement of the ANC. Like state violence, emotional blackmail does not always win.
However.
- It is not an immediate increase to R12 500 and instead: "Lonmin’s lower band workers would receive R1 000 annual increases each for three years, while Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum workers on the same levels would receive R1 000 increases for the first two years before receiving R950 in the last year." Mathunjwa of AMCU has said "Only a fool can ask us what happened to our R12 500 demand" but their still could be strong questions.
- Other demands such as an end to criminal proceedings and a moratorium on retrenchments were not achieved. AMCU does not seem to accept any criticism of itself here - a sign that, after all, it is just a union?
- The platinum sector will inevitably try to claw back this victory.
- No similar gains were made in gold mines.
Any thoughts?