Ventes at virke som et chok på Afrikas største økonomi og sende bølger ind i det politiske landskab, hvor der er stigende røster i det regerende ANC-parti for at udskifte præsident Jacob Zuma.
The world’s biggest platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum, has fired 12.000 striking South African miners after a protracted strike over wages, reports BBC online Friday.
Amplats said three weeks of illegal strikes by 28.000 workers in Rustenburg had cost it 39.000 ounces in output – or 700 million rand (82,3 million US dollar) in revenue (indtægt).
South African mining has been hit by a wave of wildcat strikes, in which miners and officials have been killed. Thirty-four platinum miners were shot dead by police on 16 August.
A separate strike is continuing at another mining firm, GoldFields, which is the world’s fourth-largest gold miner. On Tuesday, GoldFields evicted 5.000 striking employees from company dormitories, saying they were intimidating fellow workers.
In all, about 75.000 miners are currently on strike in the gold and platinum sectors, most of them illegally.
With unemployment in South Africa already at 25 per cent, the mass dismissal will deal a blow both to the country’s weak economic growth and to President Jacob Zuma’s reputation as leader, according to BBC.
His governing ANC party is holding a leadership contest in December, and some members are already calling for Mr Zuma to be replaced by his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe.
The dismissals will also shock potential international investors in Africa’s largest economy.
