Workers turn violent at Lanxess; rubber bullet firing injures many

JOHANNESBURG (Scrap Monster) : The illegal labor strife at German Lanxess’ Rustenburg  chrome mines by workers belonging to the prominent National Mineworkers Union (NUM) turned violent Tuesday. The guards fired rubber bullets in self-defense, which is said to have injured several workers.

A large number of workers belonging to NUM initiated industrial action Thursday demanding an Annual Performance Payment (APP) bonus. The dialogue between the union heads and company management failed to arrive at a breakthrough. The court ordered Friday that the work stoppage was illegal and urged the labors to return to work with immediate effect.

Despite the court order, majority of the workforce declined to return to work. The labor demonstration held on Tuesday turned violent as the workers pelted stones on the company management and security guards. The guards in turn fired rubber bullets to ground which injured several workers. Medical assistance was given at site to five injured workers. As per police officials, the situation is under control and that none of the injured are in critical condition.

The South African mining operations have been inflicted with series of issues during this year. The turf war between AMCU and NUM had recently led to deadly strikes in Lonmin’s Marikana mines in Rustenburg. The labor disruptions have literally paralyzed the country’s mining output. With labor unions in demand for huge wage hikes, the mining industry is sure to have more troubles in the days to come.