How a Bishop and a lawyer overcame ANC politicking to end platinum strike
Before it was finally resolved, South Africa's longest and most costly mining strike was a kaleidoscopic tangle of intrigue, point scoring, bad blood, hidden agendas, polarisation, stonewalling, prayer and, finally, exasperation and relief. The heavy, and almost destructive, hand that politics played in the process is particularly thought-provoking. This report by Reuters unravels the dishevelled threads of the issue and weaves them together into an excellent overniew of what has clearly set a new benchmark in the interface between unions and management in South African mining. GK
By Ed Cropley, Joe Brock and Zandi Shabalala
The events, revealed by interviews with key players in the five-month platinum strike, expose the impotence of the bargaining structures that have underpinned labour relations since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.
"We're now getting into a self-preservation period in the politics of the ANC alliance which potentially could destabilise sections of the labour market and polarise the country," he said.
"We don't have that right," she said.
WING AND A PRAYER
After countless rounds of failed talks, many South Africans thought only divine intervention would end the stand-off between the 70,000-strong AMCU and Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin.
"We started the meetings with prayers and we closed them with prayers because we felt we needed a bit of extraordinary assistance," one person involved, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
As head of the worst-hit platinum firm – analysts say Lonmin was only a few months from running out of money – Magara had the most to gain from pursuing talks to end the strike.
But his background was also crucial to overcoming bad blood between AMCU, the platinum firms and the ANC rooted in the festering inequalities left by apartheid and in the raw anger stirred up by the Marikana killings. AMCU blames the police and ANC for the 2012 miners' massacre, a charge they deny.
In contrast to Chris Griffiths and Terence Goodlace, his white counterparts at Anglo and Impala, Magara started his career underground, working his way up through the ranks and into the boardroom.
"Ben has worked in the mines," one person involved in the final negotiations told Reuters.
THREE DAYS OF SUSPENSE
The Palazzo meeting produced an "in principle" deal to increase basic wages by 1,000 rand a month, a hike equivalent to nearly 20 percent for most workers.
The mood on the Platinum Belt was ecstatic as shop stewards stepped up to the microphone to chant "Sign, Mathunjwa! Sign!", eliciting roars of approval from miners who had not seen a pay cheque in nearly half a year.
The jubilation was in marked contrast to three days earlier when the sudden absence of mediation from new mining minister Ramatlhodi stymied progress.
Besides AMCU, the three firms and a posse of government officials, Ramatlhodi also dragged in Seoka and Mpofu – two of the few non-AMCU people whom Mathunjwa trusted. Under his ad hoc auspices, the talks made progress.
AMCU refused to drop its totemic demand of a "living wage" of 12,500 rand/month basic pay. But the two sides gradually brought their target dates for progressive implementation of the hike – equivalent to a 150 percent rise if taken in one year – together until they had a broad deal, Ramatlhodi said.
When a week of talks ended on June 6, the only outstanding issue was over a 400 rand/month 'living out allowance' for workers opting out of company accommodation, he told Reuters.
"If AMCU had given that up, they would have had a deal that Friday (June 6)," he said. "At that point, it was done."
MINISTER 'CAUTIONED'
Then Ramatlhodi dropped his bombshell.
At a hastily convened Saturday morning news conference on the sidelines of a meeting of the ANC top brass, the minister said he was pulling out of the talks to avoid setting the precedent of government being the mediator of last resort.
The decision stunned negotiators, with one person at the heart of the talks dismissing his reasoning as "very flimsy".
ANC spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment.
"BACK TO SQUARE ONE"
When negotiations resumed on Monday, June 9, the trust was gone and the mood was grim. An attempt by an official from the CCMA to kick start the talks back into life went nowhere.
The CCMA has since refused to take the blame, saying Ramatlhodi had muddied the waters. It has also demanded more institutional teeth in the face of growing union militancy.
"Each time a different person steps in, you go back to the beginning and that's very, very problematic for the CCMA," director Kahn said.
A labour court judge-turned-mediator also hit a brick wall as the minister's team slowly retreated to their offices. Ramatlhodi stayed in the room but made clear he was there only in a "personal capacity".
As night fell, Mathunjwa emerged to tell waiting reporters the talks had deadlocked once again.
"We were back to square one," one person involved said.
Magara was particularly upset.
"I've never seen him so emotional. He thought it was done and he was so low," the person said. "At that stage he had no idea a deal was actually about to happen."
Alarmed at the prospect of an even longer strike and sensing Magara's weakness, Seoka and Mpofu took their chance and arranged to see him at breakfast the next day.
"They needed to get Magara and Mathunjwa in the same room – and that's when we got them," another source involved said
When he arrived, the bishop, the lawyer and the Lonmin CEO had already signed the deal. Mathunjwa never inked it, but his handshake was enough to convince Magara it was in the bag, one person involved said.
"There was huge relief."