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The proceedings of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the killings at Marikana have been widely criticised for their many shortcomings, but a number of important points of evidence have emerged in key thematic areas. What follows is a brief overview of the most...
Following are excerpts from interviews by Amandla! staff of women activists in NUMSA, conducted during NUMSA's "International Symposium on Left Political Parties and Mass Movements", held August 7-10 in Johannesburg. Attended by international guests from around the...
Luke Sinwell and Siphiwe Mbatha On 16 August 2013, exactly one year after the Marikana Massacre, 20,000 workers peacefully commemorated that fateful day. Church leaders, political parties, progressives and the workers themselves addressed the crowd – including...
by Benjamin Fogel The Lonmin Worker's Council was birthed by last year's wildcat strike at the London Mining (Formerly London Rhodesian mining) mines in Marikana. The strike itself emanated from a long-running dispute between workers and management stemming both from...
Who would ever think that an award-winning young South African jazz bassist, with impressive collaborations in Europe and the USA, and past scholarship opportunities that helped grow his music, would divulge some inner personal turmoil in his first CD album,...
Nomfulela's husband, Apa November, arrives from work around 3pm, covered in sweat under the scorching sun of Marikana and overly dressed in his rock driller outfit. He has spent twelve hours underground chasing a meager bonus with a 75kg machine in hand. Before the...
In its first months of hearings, the Farlam Commission has shown us clear evidence of a bungled police cover up of a massacre, the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) own attempt to hide its role, and an alarming level of complicity between state and capital. The...
The formation of a workers' committee is an act of power by the working class. It has shaken capital by advancing far beyond trade union bureaucracy. The workers' committee in Lonmin had only been in existence for a week when the Marikana massacre took place on the 16...
South Africa is by all accounts the world's richest country in terms of the value of its mineral resources. In 2010 these were valued at $2.5–$4.5 trillion. Mining is a lucrative business opportunity right now. The demand for commodities for the growing economies of...