Today in History: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Police open fire on a crowd of striking mine workers in Marikana

On 16 August 2012, members of the South African Police Service opened fire on a crowd of striking mine workers at Marikana, in the North West Province.

The incident resulted in the deaths of 34 mine workers, and left 78 seriously injured. Following the shooting, 250 miners were arrested.

This event took place after an intense week-long protest and wildcat strike in which the miners at the Lonmin Platinum Mine demanded a wage increase.

The strike was also aimed at addressing the poor living and working conditions of miners and their families in Marikana.

These issues were not formally addressed by the National Union of Mines (NUM) or by Lonmin during the protest.

Instead, many of the strikers began losing their jobs and the protesters were met with unrelenting hostility from security officers, the police, and union personnel and management.

Despite having no legal protection or union support, thousands of miners continued to strike in solidarity with their common goal, which was a better quality of life and dignity.

The Marikana Commission of Inquiry was set up to investigate the massacre of the miners at Marikana.

The Commission’s first sitting was on 1 October 2012, its final sitting was on 14 November 2014, and its report was submitted by former President Zuma on 31 March 2015.

The report saw key political figures being accused of having a hand in the events leading to the massacre.

The Commission also found that Lonmin had failed to engage with workers and the trade unions operating in that sector.

South Africa is one of the world’s biggest producers of platinum, which is one of the highest trading resources on the market.

Lonmin had 28 000 miners on its payroll at the time. It has since retrenched thousands of its workers, with the families of the miners slain and injured still seeking reparations.

Information sourced from: South African History Online.