* 1,000 protesters march on Amplats shaft
* Strike leaders meeting to discuss strategy
* NUM marches on Impala Platinum
* Africa’s biggest economy seared by labour strife
(Recasts, adds details throughout)
By David Dolan
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 13 (Reuters) – South African police fired
tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters hurling petrol bombs
after a march on an Anglo American Platinum mine turned
violent overnight, the latest sign of festering labour unrest.
Africa’s top economy is under increasing pressure to mend
industrial relations. Almost 100,000 workers, mostly in mining,
have launched often illegal and violent strikes since August,
eroding investor confidence and already shaky growth.
Truck drivers signed a wage deal on Friday ending a
three-week strike that squeezed deliveries of fuel, cash and
consumer goods. But that step forward was quickly overshadowed
by a Standard Poor’s downgrade of South Africa’s credit
rating.
About 1,000 protesters gathered on Friday night in a shanty
town near Rustenburg 120 km (70 miles) northwest of Johannesburg
and marched toward Amplats’ Khomanani 1 shaft, the South African
Police Service said in a statement.
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