South African miners strike after unionist shot dead

Workers battle with bosses Johannesburg – Arabstoday Thousands of workers remained on strike Wednesday at South Africa's Lonmin mine, stoking fears of further violence between rival unions that has already turned deadly. "The employees have not gone on morning shift," said Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey. "There is no morning shift and the shafts are standing still."
Work had stopped at all of the firm's 13 shafts in the northwestern Rustenburg mining town on Tuesday after a key member of the upstart Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) was gunned down over the weekend.
AMCU blame the long-dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for the unionist's death, and is vowing to continue the work stoppage until the NUM is ejected from the mine in the world's top platinum producing region.
"Apparently the workers haven't reported to work this morning," AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa told AFP.
AMCU was recently recognised as the majority union at Lonmin and at neighbouring Anglo American Platinum, dislodging the NUM from the top position.
But Mathunjwa complained that "still NUM is being treated as majority union at the workplace."
"NUM is carrying firearms at the workplace wrongfully without being reprimanded by management," he added.
The workers were due to meet with the firm at 0700 hrs GMT before deciding their next action, said Mathunjwa.