The Association of Mining and Construction Workers (AMCU) was born in 1998 out of a strike at Douglas Colliery, one of the oldest mines belonging to Ingwe Coal, when 3,000 workers occupied the underground works of the mine in protest against the dismissal of Joseph...
Lonmin
South Africa’s New Apartheid | by Sabine Cessou
A group of building workers relaxed on the pavement in central Cape Town, enjoying their lunch break. Every minute was precious; nobody was in a hurry to get back to work. "They pay us peanuts," said a bricklayer with a gold tooth. On the equivalent of $1,470 a month,...
‘We cannot walk freely’| by Jeanne Hefez
Voices from Marikana: Lonmin workers speak It's nearly four months after the Marikana massacre, and the atmosphere in and around Lonmin is still one of fear in the face of a de facto state of emergency. As Amandla! goes to press, police continue to use excessive force...
Embryos of working-class power and grassroots democracy in Marikana
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...
AMCU at the Commission: “It was one big crime’ | by Jeanne Hefez
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...
Editorial Comment
VICTORY for Marikana – Lonmin workers 22% = R11 000! Now for the struggle for Justice A heroic struggle has tasted its first victory. The reported wage settlement with Lonmin of R11 000 is a massive victory, nothing less than the murder and sacrifice of so many...
Editorial Comment
VICTORY for Marikana – Lonmin workers 22% = R11 000! Now for the struggle for Justice A heroic struggle has tasted its first victory. The reported wage settlement with Lonmin of R11 000 is a massive victory, nothing less than the murder and sacrifice of so many...
What the Fuck?
It is not usual to use an expletive in a publication like this, especially one as outrageous as the f word ... but WTF is going on with the post-apartheid state? First 34 mineworkers are killed, many, it would seem from new investigations, murdered in cold blood. And...
Marikana … from June 16 to August 16: 36 years
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...









