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Sibanye-Stillwaters’ mineworkers camping out in the Union Buildings’ lawns in Pretoria in protest, have complained about their worsening condition.
The mineworkers came to the Union Buildings after their salary negotiations with their employer collapsed.
They are demanding a R1 000 salary increase per employee while the employer offered R850.
The protesters have warned that they would not end their protest until President Cyril Ramaphosa came out to address them.
Protester Daniel Makatise, popularly known as ‘Condom’, told Rekord on Wednesday that they had been waiting for Ramaphosa for more than 10 days already.
“In the cold weather of Pretoria, we do not have warm water and a proper place to sleep. Being here means braving both the evening and early morning cold but we understand that we are in a struggle, which must continue,” said the crossdressing protester.
He said the mineworkers had been on strike more than three months without pay and, were therefore unable to buy food.
“We do not want to live here. We are not enjoying being here as we are not on vacation. The president must hurry up and address us as destitute members of the community.”
Another protester Sibongiseni Mnyana said they wanted the president to intervene in their labour dispute.
“We want the government to revoke Sibanye-Stillwaters’ mining permit and give it to a company that is willing to meet our demands.”
He said the employer’s offer of R850 had been rejected.
“We then decided to come to the Union Buildings to discuss the matter with the president and urge him to intervene,” he said.
“The petrol price has gone up, so has food and school fees. We, therefore, need a salary increase that will enable us to afford bread for our children.”
Rekord earlier this week reported that Sibanye-Stillwaters had confirmed in a statement, that it had given its employees a R850 increase.
We also reported that union members had booed Ramaphosa off the Royal Bafokeng Stadiumstage in Rustenburg where he spoke during a Cosatu May Day rally.
According to Mnyana, Ramaphosa earlier promised that mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe would address their grievances, however Mantashe had failed to broker an agreement between the feuding parties.
Speaking on behalf of the Department of MineralResources and Energy, Nathi Shabangu said Mantashe got the parties together but after two months they had yet to reach an agreement.
He said after Ramaphosa was booed Mantashe, again got the parties together after learning that the parties were negotiating through writing to each other instead of a face-to-face meeting.
“This type of communication proved ineffective,” he said.
Mnyana said Mantashe achieved his immediate goal of putting the affected parties under one roof, and the discussions continued.
He said the department was following the discussions “with keen interest.”
Mnyana said while the minister played an important role in ensuring that the parties met, he however could not participate in the discussions.
“He could not sit there and pretend to be a shop-steward or a business representative.”
He said the minister sat in their first meeting the entire day to ensure that the parties negotiated.
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