By Devon Maylie and Alexis Flynn
MARIKANA, South Africa--Around 2,000 protesting workers at
Lonmin PLC (LMI.LN) Wednesday marched to the site of a recent clash
with police in which 34 people were killed, as miners reiterated
demands for their monthly salaries to be tripled.
The clash and strike at Lonmin last month brought workers'
grievances to the fore at other platinum and gold mines raising
companies' concerns about their operations.
Wednesday, police watched on as the protesters, some carrying
sticks, proceeded to the Marikana mine singing songs and chanting
slogans such as "down with sellout, down with NUM" (the traditional
union) and "our people are dying, Zuma is killing us."
Men wearing the green shirts of the Association of Mineworkers
and Construction Union led the group and spoke to the management.
The mine manager, Jan Thirion, guarded by security guards, came and
out called on the protesters to wait for negotiations to end.
But the protesting group said they will be back Thursday to make
sure those breaking the strike haven't returned. Lonmin's output
has been stopped since Aug 10 at Marikana and in the past week less
than 10% of staff have turned up.
"This is about the money...we don't care if we die. We won't
return until Lonmin gives us 12,500 rand, ($1,488)" said Vincent
Tyobeni, one of the ringleaders of the march Wednesday.
Meanwhile South Africa's second largest gold producer, Gold
Fields Ltd. (GFI), said a week-old strike at its KDC east mine was
due to end on the night shift Wednesday. But trouble resurfaced at
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (IMP.JO) which said it had received
new wage demands emanating from a strike in February that again
threatened to destabilize its largest mine.
The resumption in tensions came as South Africa's Trade and
Industry Minister Rob Davies sought to reassure foreign investors
in a series of meetings in London Wednesday.
Speaking to an audience that included Goldman Sachs' doyen of
emerging economies, Jim O'Neill, and Ann Grant, Standard Chartered
Bank's Vice Chairman for Africa, Mr. Davies described the events at
Marikana as "a tragedy" that wouldn't be allowed to happen
again.
Mr. Davies avoided mention of Marikana or the ongoing labour
unrest for much of his speech, concentrating for the most part on
detailing theoretical ways that South Africa could leverage its
relations with China, India and Brazil, as well describing its
position as a gateway for investors to access growth markets on the
rest of the African continent.
While the labor unrest had negatively impacted the shares of
companies like Lonmin, it hadn't affected foreign investment, Mr.
Davies said.
"We have not seen an impact on foreign direct investment. The
impact has largely been felt in the shares of the companies
concerned," said Mr. Davies.
In response to the four-week-long strike Lonmin has said it will
have to start to consider shaft closures soon because it can't stay
open without production. But first it's trying to resolve the
standoff in talks that resumed Wednesday between unions and the
company.
However, analysts highlight that a solution is not that
simple.
"Now this is about union-on-union action and dissatisfaction
with larger, social issues wrapped into wage issues and strikes.
It's much harder for FDI (foreign direct investment) investors to
get a handle on. You see Lonmin has been powerless to resolve this
at all, given it's not really just about wages," said Peter Attard
Montalto, emerging market economist at Nomura International.
At the heart of the strike is frustration over living conditions
and pay, but it's also playing out in a battle between emerging
AMCU and governing ANC-ally National Union of Mineworkers, as they
fight for membership.
(Jenny Gross in London contributed to this article)
Write to Devon Maylie at Devon.Maylie@dowjones.com