JOHANNESBURG Feb 25 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Impala
Platinum is to rehire thousands of miners sacked for an
illegal strike that has halted production for more than a month
at the world’s biggest platinum mine, a leading union said on
Saturday.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said Implats, the
world’s number two platinum producer, had agreed to reinstate
the miners on their old terms and conditions in a bid to end
five weeks of violent industrial action.
Three miners have been killed in clashes between rival union
factions at the mine near Rustenburg, 120 km (80 miles)
northwest of Johannesburg, and the five weeks of stoppages have
cost the company 80,000 ounces in lost platinum output.
The violence appears to stem from a turf war at the mine
between the NUM and a smaller labour group, the Association of
Mineorkers and Construction Union.
Given the level of intimidation at the site – a contract
worker was beaten to death when he tried to go to work on Friday
– it is unclear whether the deal announced by the NUM will make
much difference at the mine, which accounts for 15 percent of
global platinum output.
The unrest is one of the main reasons behind a 23 percent
spike in the spot price of the white metal this year.
According to Implats, 59 people have been hospitalised in the
last month due to strike-related violence.
Implats was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Ed Cropley, editing by William Hardy)
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