South Africa on Friday revived mediation efforts in its platinum belt, aiming to contain labour discontent among mineworkers following the nation's deadliest police action since apartheid. Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant met with union representatives in Rustenburg, the main city in the mining area in the north of the country where 44 died last week in clashes at Lonmin's Marikana mine.
They discussed ways to "stabilise the situation and find an amicable solution to the labour dispute", the government said in a statement, without elaborating. Meanwhile operations restarted at other platinum mines in the region - but not at Marikana - while managers and workers' representatives hammered out wage agreements. Fitch rating agency underscored concerns around the industry, saying that nagging social problems could cripple the country's investment climate if not addressed.
"The protests highlight broader structural problems that have long weighed on South Africa's rating," the agency said in a statement. Lonmin, the world's third-biggest platinum producer, said only about 24 percent of its 28,000 work force at Marikana signed in on Friday, forcing it to suspend mining yet another day.
"Mining operations will only resume once we have sufficient workers in attendance and the necessary safety procedures have been undertaken," Lonmin said in a statement. It said earlier that striking workers would not be punished during a week of mourning for the dead, which started on Monday.
About 3,000 rock drill operators at the Lonmin mine launched an illegal strike on August 10 that quickly devolved into clashes with non-strikers. Ten people including two police were killed, leading to the crackdown on August 16, when police gunned down 34 armed miners.
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