The Marikana massacre was the single most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since 1960. The shootings have been described as a massacre in the South African media and have been compared to the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. The incident also took place on the 25-year anniversary of a nationwide South African miners' strike.
Controversy emerged after it was discovered that most of the victims were shot in the back, and many victims were shot far from police lines. On 18 September, a mediator announced a resolution to the conflict, stating the striking miners had accepted a 22% pay rise, a one-off payment of 2,000 rand and would return to work 20 September.
The strike is considered a seminal event in modern South African history, and was followed by similar strikes at other mines across South Africa, events which collectively made 2012 the most protest-filled year in the country since the end of apartheid.
The Marikana massacre started as a wildcat strike at a mine owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa in 2012. The event garnered international attention following a series of violent incidents between the South African Police Service, Lonmin security and the leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on the one side and strikers themselves on the other, which resulted in the deaths of 44 people, 41 of whom were striking mineworkers killed by police. Also, during the same incident, at least 78 additional workers were injured. The total number of injuries during the strike remains unknown. In response to the Lonmin strikers, there were a wave of wildcat strikes across the South African mining sector.
The UK miners' strike of 1984-85 was a major industrial action affecting the UK coal industry. The strike by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was led by Arthur Scargill, although some NUM members considered it to be unconstitutional and did not observe it. The BBC has referred to the strike as "the most bitter industrial dispute in British history." At its height, the strike involved 142,000 mineworkers, making it the biggest since the 1926 General Strike.
The coal industry in the UK, nationalised by Clement Attlee's Labour government in 1947, was encouraged to gear itself toward reduced subsidies in the 1980s under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. After a narrowly averted strike in February 1981, a series of pit closures and pay restraint led to a series of strike ballots and unofficial strikes. The 1984–85 strike is usually dated as beginning on 6 March 1984 with a walkout at Cortonwood Colliery in Brampton Bierlow, South Yorkshire, which led the Yorkshire Area of the NUM to call an official strike. The Polmaise colliery in Scotland was the first pit to be on full strike, having come out in January 1984 in protest at the decision to close both Polmaise and Bogside, but this was initially not supported by the Scottish NUM.
The massacre of 34 striking miners at Marikana in 2012 happened, in part, because the majority of the media reporting robbed the strikers of their humanity ... The voices of the miners involved in a wildcat strike, outside of the unions, were absent.
... victims and families of workers killed during the 16 August 2012 Marikana massacre that left 34 miners dead when police opened fire during a wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine near Rustenburg.
Goldplat defended its actions by expressing fears of a potential repeat of the Marikana massacre of August 16 2012 in which 34 striking miners were killed. ... ‘another Marikana’,” the court said.
Impoverished people are often governed with violence and from the massacre of striking miners in Marikana in 2012 to the many assassinations of grassroots activists popular dissent has often been met with severe repression.
The mine is owned by Implats, which is one of the world’s biggest platinum miners ... In 2012, police killed 34 miners in a mass shooting following a prolonged strike and days of violence at another platinum mine in nearby Marikana ... AP Africa news ... ....
He said the true collaborators are known and a few years back they collaborated with Lonmin to kill striking miners in Marikana. He was referring to the Marikana massacre where 34 miners were killed by the police in 2012...[email protected].
Eleven years ago, 34 striking miners were killed by police in what is now known as the Marikana massacre ... 34 striking miners were killed by police in what is now known as the Marikana massacre.
In Marikana, during a six-month strike for increased pay, 34 miners were killed by police who opened fire on the crowd. NORTH WEST - Widows and survivors of the Marikana massacre on Wednesday arrived at the Koppie where 34 miners were killed in 2012.
Significant and interesting snippets of news with a South African angle, from this day in history ... 1835 Solymon Merrick patents the wrench ... 2012Police shoot striking miners and kill at least 34 of them at Marikana, North West ... .
He again paid homage to the victims of the 2012 Marikana massacre where 34 miners were killed during a wildcat strike. The party was birthed in the aftermath of the deadly clash between Lonmin workers and police. ALSO READ. ... - Malema or the EFF ? ... .
This year marks the 11th anniversary of the Marikana massacre which claimed the lives of 34 miners who were killed when police officers opened fire on striking miners on August 16, 2012, during a ...
EFF leader, Julius Malema chose Marikana as the venue for the party’s launch back in 2013 ... JOHANNESBURG - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will on Wednesday return to the koppie - where striking miners were killed by police in Marikana.
The Marikana massacre against striking mineworkers was to some extent related to that system. A lot of the striking miners were so deeply indebted to the main microfinance institutions, several of ...
Killeen Daily Herald
19 Dec 2023
Killeen Daily Herald
19 Dec 2023