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Johannesburg - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will meet with Northam Platinum [JSE:NHM] on Monday, a union official said, in a bid to end a wildcat strike at the company's Zondereinde mine which started last week.
Ecliff Tantsi, NUM's chief negotiator at Northam, told Reuters the union would meet with officials at 10:00.
READ: Amcu-Num rivalry might be behind Northam strike
About 5 000 members of NUM downed tools on Tuesday night demanding the removal of chief executive Paul Dunne over what they say are unfair hiring and firing practices.
Northam shut operations at its strike-hit mine, which produces 65% of its output, on Friday due to what it called rising levels of intimidation and assaults related to the stoppage.
ALSO READ: Strike violence not our style, says NUM
On Friday, mine management temporarily suspended its operations to ensure the safety of its employees and company property.
On Wednesday, the Labour Court granted an interim interdict to end the strike.
Northam said a large number of employees signalled a desire to return to work last Thursday in line with the Labour Court ruling.
Disciplinary proceedings, including dismissals, would be implemented for those who did not return to work following the interdict, she said.
The ongoing strike had resulted in production losses of around R11.5m per day, while employees forfeited wages and benefits of around R2.4m per day, she said.
Arch rival
An industry source, who declined to be named, said that non-striking members of NUM's arch rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), had been removed over the weekend from mine hostels to keep the two sides separated - a move that has helped defuse tensions.
The unfolding drama at Northam seems to be a reversal of recent union roles on the platinum belt, where Amcu has poached tens of thousands of NUM members over the past three years in a brutal turf war that has killed scores of miners.
NUM, which is the majority union at Northam, has long complained about Amcu embarking on wildcat strikes and then intimidating its members into submission.
Amcu treasurer Jimmy Gama told Reuters the union's members were assaulted and had their hostel rooms vandalised last week because NUM wants to ward off Amcu at Northam.
"They are afraid to lose members at the mine and they are now resorting to violence," he said.
The wider platinum industry is still recovering from a sometimes violent five-month strike last year by Amcu that hit Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin, the world's top producers of the precious metal.
