The march by the Association for Mining and Construction Union (Amcu) to the Union Buildings has been marred by Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe’s decision to leave the venue without receiving the union’s memorandum of demands.
Mantashe was peeved by Amcu President Joseph Mathunjwa‘s late arrival to hand over the memorandum.
Amcu members arrived in the Pretoria CBD for the march against job losses, especially in the mining industry.
But Mathunjwa was nowhere to be seen.
The march eventually got underway at noon and headed to the Union Buildings.
Once there, there was another long wait for Mathunjwa to arrive and Mantashe could not wait any longer.
Mathunjwa eventually showed up, receiving a hero’s welcome by his followers.
He took a swipe at Mantashe for leaving, suggesting he could not bear to witness how Amcu had grown into a giant union at the expense of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the union Mantashe used to lead.
He then went on to call him a horrible minister.
He also took a swipe at President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying he is no different from former President Jacob Zuma.
There were similar Amcu marches in the Free State, Limpopo and in Durban.
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