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Striking Amcu members gather at Amplats

Rustenburg - Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) gathered at various Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] (Amplats) shafts in Rustenburg on Wednesday morning.

Amcu members went on strike on Friday, protesting over the retrenchment of 3 300 workers.

At Khuseleka shaft one, a group dressed in green Amcu T-shirts were singing on the road leading to the Jabula hostel. Women ululated as the men sang, waving sticks in the air and whistling.

The rest of the workers were standing in groups at the sports field. They were waiting to be briefed on the outcome of a meeting their leaders had with the company.

On Monday night, a man was beaten and his car set alight in front of the Jabula hostel. North West police spokesman Brig Thulani Ngubane said the incident could not yet be linked to the strike. He said only investigation could determine this.

Public order police were monitoring the strike from a distance. A police Nyala armoured vehicle occasionally drove around the hostel near the Sondela informal settlement.

The company announced in January that 14 000 jobs would be cut as part of its restructuring process.

On Friday, it said retrenchment avoidance measures, like redeployment into vacancies across the group, voluntary severance and early retirements had resulted in a reduction of the number of employees to be retrenched to 3 300.

Amcu members went on strike on the same day in protest, complaining about the processes related to the retrenchments.

In a parallel move, the National Union of Mineworkers (Num), which also questions the retrenchment processes, opted for court action instead of a strike.

Judgment in the Num application to the Labour Court in Johannesburg was reserved on Tuesday.

Amplats has said it followed procedure correctly.

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