Just a Thought...

At the end of last month, South Africa was once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons. This time it was not for rhino poaching, murder on honeymoon, HIV or rape. No, this time it was because South Africa’s favourite past time got slightly out of control...

In August, the workers of the Lonmin mine went on strike demanding higher salaries and better working conditions. Supposedly under the influence of Muti, protesters turned violent and clashes with the police lead to the death of 34 mine workers. Bizarrely, the National Prosecuting Authority has charged the surviving miners for the death of their colleagues even though it was the police who shot... The charges were eventually withdrawn and workers and management agreed on a wage increase. But the "successful" strike has raised the expectations of workers at other mines and their willingness to use unconventional means.

Even though I disapprove of their demands and methods, I cannot help but sympathise with the workers’ demands for better pay and conditions

Miners in South Africa work up to 2km deep and temperatures can easily reach over 40°C. In order to make conditions semi-bearable, mines are refrigerated, chilled water is pumped into the shafts and miners wear jackets padded with ice. Dust from drilling also has to be wetted to prevent Silicosis, a lethal lung disease. Long term health benefits aside, mining is a highly dangerous job and more than 100 workers die in South African mines every year. 

Altogether, mine workers face hot and unsafe working conditions and hard physical labour – and all for less than R5 000 a month or R25 (€2.50) per hour... Can you really blame them for wanting more pay? 

But leaving the strike aside, the Lonmin Saga reminded me of something a friend said to me a few weeks ago: 

When you’re leaving lights on or your computer running over night, when you leave the air-conditioning on even though you’re going out or plug in that oh-so-nice digital picture frame without ever looking at the photos, think about the men who spend their lives underground working in dark and dangerous conditions so that we have electricity. Remind yourself that every time you leave the lights on or the TV running, badly paid men have spent a day working in nasty conditions for nothing at all...