AMCU hits out at scheduling of National Convention, says it eclipsed Marikana commemoration

JOHANNESBURG - The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has taken exception to the scheduling of the first National Convention to coincide with the annual commemoration of the Marikana massacre.

Thirty-four mineworkers were gunned down in a wildcat strike on 16 August in 2012.

The violent clash with law enforcement in the build-up to one of the country’s worst mining tragedies followed failed wage negotiations between workers and Lonmin mine management.

Two officers and security guards were also killed in the conflict.

Thirteen years on, the families of the victims and survivors say they are yet to see justice.

Speaking on 702’s Nguni programme, Siyaxoxa ku-702, on Sunday night, AMCU president, Joseph Mathunjwa, accused organisers of intentionally trying to eclipse the Marikana commemoration and distract from it with the National Convention held in Pretoria at the weekend.

"If the miners weren’t killed intentionally, then President Cyril Ramaphosa, who sanctioned the police to shoot protesting miners by sending an email demanding concomitant action, wouldn’t have scheduled the National Dialogue on the same day as the Marikana commemoration. But it’s clear, this issue has never affected him, he doesn’t care."

At the time of the Marikana massacre, Ramaphosa was the country’s deputy president and a non-executive director at Lonmin.

An email he sent on 15 August surfaced in a bundle of documents submitted by Lonmin in a commission probing the circumstances of the tragedy.

In the email, Ramaphosa wrote: "The terrible events that have unfolded cannot be described as a labour dispute. They are plainly dastardly criminal and must be characterised as such. In line with this characterisation, there needs to be concomitant action to address the situation."

In court papers, he said the email had been taken out of context, adding that it was a call for peace to prevent the further loss of life.