Scores of miners have braved the freezing weather and spent Monday night at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
They are demanding for President Cyril Ramaphosa to come and address them.
The Sibanye-Stillwater employees affiliated to mining unions NUM and AMCU are demanding a R1 000 salary increase backdated for 3 years.
They have vowed to camp out at the Union Buildings until President Ramaphosa intervenes.
NUM’s Sizwe Mhlaba says: “We do not need an appointment with President Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa is one of us. When he wants votes it is him who comes to our houses and canvases. So, we are not going anywhere until he comes and addresses us. As you can see here we brought our blankets. We will sleep here until our demands are met.”
Mhlaba says the strike is protected and they will stop at nothing until their demands are met: “It’s a protected strike and we will survive. I do not want to go into details but we will survive.”
Workers say the President is one person to better understand their plight as he has been a trade unionist himself: “Ramaphosa is one of the founding members of NUM. He has a better understanding of the situation in mines. So, were are prepared to camp here until he comes to assist us.”
