RUSTENBURG – Violence broke out at a memorial service held at Impala Platinum’s South Shaft, apparently leaving more than 50 people injured.
The incident took place on Thursday morning, 19 February, when members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) were attacked whilst attending a memorial service for a colleague at Impala Platinum who passed away after an accident. He was also a NUM member.
In a media statement, NUM strongly condemns the attack on its members, describing it as brutal and unprovoked.
“NUM is outraged by the blatant gatekeeping displayed by Impala Platinum management. Despite the deceased being a dedicated NUM member, management inexplicably sidelined our union, granting exclusive permission to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) to attend the service.
“When NUM members, led by the Rustenburg Regional leadership, arrived to pay their final respects, they were met with extreme violence by alleged AMCU members,” the union stated.
These individuals were apparently armed with dangerous weapons, including firearms, pangas, and knobkerries – inside the mine premises. According to NUM, the attackers proceeded to throw chairs and assault members, resulting in several injuries.
NUM stated it is unacceptable that individuals were permitted to carry life-threatening weapons onto mine property, demanding to know how security protocols failed to prevent this from happening. NUM also stated that at the centre of all this conflict is the issue of bargaining rights at Impala Platinum.
Cosatu condemned attack
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) joined NUM in condemning the attack on its members at Impala Platinum’s South Shaft on Thursday morning.
Cosatu also demands to know how security protocols failed to prevent the attack from happening. In addition, Cosatu stated, Impala Platinum must come clean and explain why it attempted to block NUM from saying a final goodbye to its dedicated member.
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