JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Labour union Solidarity has declared the platinum belt a partial disaster area and sent in its helping-hand organisation to assist its non-striking members in the towns of Rustenburg, Brits and Mooinooi.

“Non-strikers also lose a substantial part of their income and struggle to meet their financial obligations, without being responsible for the situation in any way whatsoever,” says Solidarity CEO Flip Buys, who explains that much of the remuneration of platinum company employees is production-linked.

“Therefore, when production is suspended it’s not only the strikers who lose their income,” he says, adding that also hard-hit are many of the employees of companies that have had their contracts terminated as a result of the 13-week-old strike.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union’s (AMCU’s) legal but highly damaging strike has already seen 26% lopped off yearly earnings of rand-and-file mineworkers, who lose 2% of their salary for every week that they are not at work.

But the losses have not lowered AMCU’s unrelenting demand for R12 500 a month as a minimum entry-level wage.

Solidarity has, meanwhile, contributed R100 000 to an emergency fund that has already resulted in food and other essential provisions being distributed to some 170 Solidarity members.

Solidarity Helping Hand CE Danie Brink describes as urgent the need for nappies and infant formula.

Platinum-mining company Lonmin CEO Ben Magara said earlier this month that many mothers in the stricken platinum belt had no food to give to their children.

His company reported that SMS and automated voice messaging (AVM) questions sent to employee cellphone numbers had indicated that most striking employees wanted to return to work.

AVMs to 20 000 of 23 000 Lonmin workers in lower work categories three to nine indicated that 67% wanted to return to work and 6 500 SMS responses gave the reason for staying away from work as intimidation.

Public contributions to the emergency fund can be deposited into Solidarity Helping Hand, Absa Bank Trust Account 9082262243, branch code 632005.Reference: Rustenburg Rampfonds.