Lonmin mine management has been meeting with the miners’ union, Amcu in a bid to resolve the unions’ standoff. Amcu has threatened strike action from Tuesday if no agreement is reached.

Rival unions the NUM and Amcu have been at loggerheads over the ”recognition” issue. A NUM shop steward was shot and killed at the mine last week.

After failing to reach an agreement at the CCMA, Lonmin applied for arbitration, which is expected to take place later this month. However, Amcu members have voted to strike. Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant has called on union leaders to discourage workers from engaging in unprotected action.

Some economists have suggested that the time is right to revisit traditional labour union representation models. Analyst, Patrick Deale says its like two bulls in a kraal and both unions should be accommodated. He added that there should be some degree of proportional representation and “majority status should be given to the bigger union with the most members.”
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