S. African mimers call for negotiations to end strike

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday that it wants to end a one- week strike through negotiations.

"We are calling for the management to come to the negotiating table to try and find an amicable solution," the union said.

More than 5,000 NUM members went on an unprotected strike last Tuesday in protest against unfair hiring and firing practices at a mine in Limpopo Province owned by mineral producer Northam Platinum, forcing the company to suspend the operations there.

NUM said the workers are subjected to unfair dismissals for being on valid sick leaves.

"We suspect that the management wanted to alter these policies for intentions known to them without informing the union leadership and without following the due processes," NUM acting national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said.

The company claimed that tensions were rising at the mine as a result of incidents of intimidation, assault and threats of violence towards nonstriking employees and damage to property, which NUM denied.

Mammburu said the union leadership asked the management to try and find an amicable solution many times, to no avail.

"Management at all times resorted to threats without dealing with the actual issues that were affecting workers," he said, adding that numerous emails were written to the company's CEO Paul Dunne but not even a single response was received from him.

NUM said the workers would not return to work if Dunne was not removed.

Northam Platinum spokesperson Marion Brower said earlier the strike-hit Zondereinde mine's management "continues to engage with the NUM in a bid to normalize operations as soon as possible".

The Zondereinde mine has 6,600 permanent employees and 2,100 contractors.

The strike raised fears for a new round of labor unrest in South Africa which was hard hit by a series of strikes, particularly in the platinum sector last year. Endi