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The grand layoff
Oct. 6th, 2012 12:25 am12,000 Striking Miners Are Fired in South Africa
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/world/africa/12000-striking-miners-are-fired-in-south-africa.html?_r=0
The world’s top platinum producer fired 12,000 workers who refused to return to work on Friday, apparently an attempt by the company to stem the tide of wildcat strikes that have shaken South Africa’s mining industry and unsettled Africa’s biggest economy.
The move by the company, Anglo American Platinum, is likely to heighten tensions in South Africa amid a wave of sometimes violent and illegal strikes by workers at platinum, gold and iron ore mines. Last week, Moody’s downgraded South Africa’s bond rating for the first time since 1994, and the country’s currency, the rand, has weakened in recent days.
The mining industry has been in turmoil since Aug. 16, when the police opened fire on miners who had gathered outside a mine in Marikana, killing 34 and wounding dozens more. About 75,000 miners are believed to be on strike, representing nearly a fifth of the industry’s work force. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/world/africa/12000-striking-miners-are-fired-in-south-africa.html?_r=0
The world’s top platinum producer fired 12,000 workers who refused to return to work on Friday, apparently an attempt by the company to stem the tide of wildcat strikes that have shaken South Africa’s mining industry and unsettled Africa’s biggest economy.
The move by the company, Anglo American Platinum, is likely to heighten tensions in South Africa amid a wave of sometimes violent and illegal strikes by workers at platinum, gold and iron ore mines. Last week, Moody’s downgraded South Africa’s bond rating for the first time since 1994, and the country’s currency, the rand, has weakened in recent days.
The mining industry has been in turmoil since Aug. 16, when the police opened fire on miners who had gathered outside a mine in Marikana, killing 34 and wounding dozens more. About 75,000 miners are believed to be on strike, representing nearly a fifth of the industry’s work force. ...
