Strikes won't help workers - Zuma

"Instead, it will make them and the country worse off," he told the National Assembly during question time.

The labour department and institutions under its control such as the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) stood ready to assist in mediating between the parties.

Government was also continuously engaging mining companies to assess the implementation of the provisions of the Mining Charter to improve living conditions of workers.

The Marikana tragedy, in which 44 people died, had further highlighted the deepening levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality in the country and the frustrations this generated, he said.

The "reminder" from the Marikana tragedy was that meaningful social cohesion would be achieved when "we succeed in addressing socio-economic inequality, poverty and unemployment".

"Our economy must grow and create more jobs to absorb the many unemployed and improve the standards of living. Meaningful economic transformation also has to be visible," he said.

The findings of the Employment Equity Commission, that there still remained a gross under-representation of black people, women, and people with disabilities in key areas of the labour market, for example in management, should worry all.

Another lesson from Marikana was the need to accelerate the transformation of the mining sector and to strengthen the sector, which had been the backbone of the economy for more than a century.

The sector provided half a million direct jobs and a similar number of indirect jobs and was central to the country's development goals.

"We should work together as government, labour, business, political parties, and all stakeholders to promote the adherence to the Constitution and laws of the land in dealing with labour disputes in the mining sector."

The worker demands for better wages could and should be addressed within the country's labour relations framework, Zuma said.

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