S. African gov't urged to stem tide of killings in mining sector

CAPE TOWN, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) on Tuesday urged the government to stem the tide of killings in the mining sector.

The failure by the government to stem the tide of killings in the mining sector "is deeply disturbing," the national trade federation said.

COSATU was responding to the killing of six mineworkers on Monday evening. The workers were killed when their work bus was attacked in a petrol bomb in Burgersfort, Limpopo Province. Several other mineworkers were injured in the attack.

No one has been arrested for the attack. Police said they were still investigating the motive for the attack.

The federation called on the law enforcement agencies to swiftly pursue and arrest the perpetrators of this "barbaric and heinous" crime.

These workers and their families deserve justice, COSATU said.

"It is horrifying that workers can lose their lives on their way to earn a living under these sickening circumstances," COSATU national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said.

Hundreds of workers have lost their lives from the raging violence in the mining sector and unfortunately the culprits are not being apprehended, according to Pamla.

Monday's incident was the latest in a series of attacks on mineworkers recently. Rivalry among trade unions facing declining membership is believed to be a major factor that leads to the killing of mineworkers.

In November last year, five mineworkers belonging to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) were killed. AMCU accused another trade union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), of masterminding the attack, but NUM denied the accusation.

"This failure by the law enforcement agencies to do their work has the potential to further inflame the situation and break the existing social order because when the laws of the country are not being honestly enforced, anarchy prevails," Pamla said.

"South Africa is fast becoming a lawless country and the center is fast becoming loose," he said.

COSATU demands that Minister of Police Bheki Cele, Minister of Labor Mildred Oliphant and the Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe should act decisively to ensure that the mining sector does not deteriorate further and become a lawless jungle, Pamla said. Enditem