* National period of mourning declared
* Employees could be sacked if they do not return to work
* Shares extend steep losses, platinum price at 6-week highs
By Ed Stoddard
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 20 (Reuters) – A quarter of the workforce
returned on Monday to the Marikana platinum mine where 44 men
were killed last week in clashes that evoked memories of
apartheid-era violence.
Mine owner Lonmin has threatened about
3,000 striking workers with dismissal if they did not show up at
Marikana, 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg,
where 34 miners armed with spears, machetes and handguns were
gunned down on Thursday in a hail of police fire.
.
Ten people were killed prior to the police shooting,
including a shop steward from the country’s biggest union, the
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), who was hacked to death.
The mayhem was sparked by a spreading battle for membership
between the NUM and the upstart Association of Mineworkers and
Construction Union, which has accused its rival of caring more
about politics and personal enrichment than workers.
Investigators appointed by President Jacob Zuma, who has
declared a week of mourning, are expected at the mine.
Continued…
