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Three workers killed as S.Africa platinum belt boils over

13 May 2014 01:12 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Three mine workers were killed in South Africa's restive platinum belt, a union said Monday, as efforts intensified to break a strike that is now in its fourth month, APA reports quoting AFP.

The National Union of Mineworkers members were killed while on their way to work, or attacked at their homes, NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said.

Police said one was hacked to death on Monday, a second one was burnt to ashes in his house, while a third was found strangled to death along with his wife in their shack over the weekend.

Six others were stabbed while walking to work early Monday morning, but survived, said police spokesman Thulani Ngubane.

The three top platinum mining companies said there had been at least 20 reported "acts of assault" between Sunday and Monday.

There were also a number of "serious incidents of intimidation" against non-striking employees and operators of buses hired to transport some of the workers.

The attacks appeared to bear the hallmarks of inter-union violence, but police refused to confirm a motive.

Around 80,000 members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union downed tools on January 23 demanding higher pay, dramatically cutting production in the world's largest platinum producing region.

Non-striking workers, including members of the National Union of Mineworkers have reported intimidation and violence by the striking majority.

"We know those who are on strike are behind the attacks," NUM general secretary Frans Baleni told AFP. "Our members are between a rock and a hard place."