South Africa has been hit by its first industry-wide strike as tens of thousands of workers protest against poor safety conditions.
Yesterday's one-day protest affected more than 60 companies mining gold, platinum and coal announced the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which represents about 270,000 workers.
Leading up to the strike, the NUM called on employers "to take a leadership role and invest in safety in the same manner they invest in production".
"Trade unions globally are sending protest and memorandums to various South African embassies to push them to act on the genocide that is unfolding in the mining industry," the NUM said in a statement.
In 2003, mining companies promised to lower the fatality rate of South African miners by 20 percent annually, to bring the industry in line with the West.
But after an initial drop in 2004, the death rate leveled off for the next two years, according to a report by mining employers organisation the Chamber of Mines of South Africa.
By staff writer
