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Shabangu colluding with mines, says Amcu

Pretoria - Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu)  president Joseph Mathunjwa accused Mines Minister Susan Shabangu of urging platinum mining companies to seek legal avenues against the union to try to halt its pay strike.

"We are in a protected strike... The minister of [mineral resources] advised mines to take us to court and dismiss workers. We want a new [mineral resources] minister," Mathunjwa said.

"The minister has chosen to collude with foreign companies, to sue Amcu for millions."

He was speaking at a march in Pretoria attended by thousands of  members to hand over a memorandum of protest to President Jacob Zuma.

Amcu led a march to protest what it says are state and company efforts to break its six-week old wage strike.

The march came the day after wage talks collapsed between Amcu and Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS], Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Lonmin [JSE:LON], dashing hopes for an end to a stoppage that has hit 40% of global output of the metal.

There was a heavy police presence at the march, with armoured vehicles on standby, but the protest was peaceful.

Amplats said it is suing Amcu for almost R600m ($56m) for what it says are damages caused by its striking members stemming from vandalism and intimidation to prevent non-striking members from going to work.

The union has also been accused of violating picketing rules in an ongoing case in the country's labour court.

Amcu has long rejected allegations it uses intimidation to keep its members in line and Mathunjwa on Thursday accused the police of using unnecessary force against it.

State resources have been used to destabilise Amcu, said Mathunjwa.

"The police have been used to harass Amcu members through unlawful arrests on questionable charges."

Amcu said on Tuesday it had softened its stance for the first time, saying it now wanted staggered pay rises to bring the basic entry wage to R12 500 ($1 200) a month in three years' time, over double current levels, instead of immediately.

The companies say this is unaffordable and are sticking to their latest offer of increases of up to 9%, setting the stage for a protracted showdown in the restive platinum belt.

The reaction to the latest strike from markets has been fairly muted so far, with players betting there are adequate above ground stocks.

This scenario could change as the strike looks set to become protracted with no date set for talks to resume and the two sides still poles apart.


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