Over 2,000 South African mine workers find themselves on the third consecutive day of a sit-in protest deep within a mine in Rustenburg, situated approximately 100km northwest of Johannesburg.
Contrary to initial perceptions of a peaceful sit-in, a local union official revealed to the BBC Newsday programme that some workers are being held against their will by their colleagues underground.
Geoffrey Moatshe, the regional secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, stated on Wednesday, “For some time, we thought this was just a sit-in, but as developments unfolded, those able to leave underground informed us that workers below are being held against their will. It is, in fact, a hostage situation.”
The protest, initiated on Monday morning, has been deemed illegal as it lacked approval from the national mine union. The unrest reportedly stems from disputes related to a profit-sharing scheme and the release of workers’ pension funds.
Implats, the company that recently acquired the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine where the protest is occurring, reported that 167 workers had safely emerged, while 2,038 others remained underground as of Tuesday.