By Gabi Falanga –
A member of Lonmin management has faced strong criticism for not being willing to negotiate directly with the miners during their strike.
A top Lonmin employee faced strong criticism on Tuesday at the Marikana commission for the company’s inflexible approach towards miners in the days leading up to the Marikana massacre.
Michael Gomes Da Costa was the vice-president of Lonmin’s Karee Mine at the time of the strike. He was also one of the first people the rock drill operators (RDOs) approached requesting a wage increase. On June 21 2012, around 300 RDOs unexpectedly arrived at Da Costa’s office. He told the workers he would make their wishes known to the executive committee, but warned they were unlikely to be granted their demand of R12 500. Da Costa also said they should rather have followed the structures put in place, such as approaching the union in charge, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), to discuss wages on their behalf. The workers then indicated they did not want the unions to get involved.
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