Johannesburg - Impala Platinum (Implats) [JSE:IMP] has cancelled its Wednesday night shift at its Rustenburg operations and would continue to do so for the duration of Amcu's planned strike, the company said.
This was to mitigate the risk of violence and to ensure the safety of their employees, said spokesperson Alice Lourens.
"There will be employees reporting for duty in daylight so they do not have to travel in darkness," she said.
"During the period of the strike, there will be no night shift taking place."
Anglo Platinum (Amplats) [JSE:LON] and Lonmin's [JSE:LON] Amcu-aligned workers would also be going on strike on Thursday.
Peace talks
The labour ministry said on Wednesday that a meeting between Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant, and the Chamber of Mines would likely take place on Friday.
Also, Amcu had indicated to Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe they wanted to get a new mandate from their members authorising them to take part in the talks."As we have always indicated, the department is on hand whenever possible to play a mediating role and it is our fervent hope that all the interested parties will seize this opportunity with open hands," Oliphant said.
"Our economy is stressed enough already and another strike in the mining industry would have dire consequences."
Police at the ready
North West police said on Wednesday they were ready for the planned strike. As a legal strike it was the organisers' responsibility to ensure the strike was peaceful and picketing rules were adhered to, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.
"Members of the SA Police Service (SAPS), [and] public order policing will be deployed to ensure peace and security of both the striking mine workers and the general public."
Strikers were not allowed to interfere with public order, destroy property or intimidate non-strikers.
"As the SAPS, we have the responsibility to ensure that the laws of the republic are enforced where there is disregard," he said.
No dangerous weapons would be allowed at gatherings during the strike.