Over 80,000 workers downed tools across South Africa’s platinum industry on January 23, and are holding out for a doubling of their entry-level salary to 12,500 rand a month.
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The strike has caused broader economic damage to local South African communities including Marika, above, with as much as 28,000 miner on strike since January. Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters -
A sign welcomes visitors to the E2 shaft mining area at the Marikana platinum mine, operated by Lonmin, in Marikana. Dean Hutton / Bloomberg News -
A child sits outside a locked shack in Nkaneng township, Marikana’s informal settlement, in Rustenburg. Union members have downed tools at platinum-producing miners in a strike over wages. Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters -
Business has slowed for the owners of a mobile phone shop in Marikana in South Africa with the drawn-out strike of mineworkers. Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters -
Striking miners idle in the backyard of a shack in Marikana. An entry-level Lonmin worker earns 5,713 rand basic salary a month, but extra allowances and benefits push the package to 9,790 rand. Marco Longari / AFP -
Convenience stor owner Daniel Waza, here inside his shop in Nkaneng township, counts among his customers the striking platinum miners. Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters -
Marikana residents manage to purchase only few items at shops after weeks of no income. Marco Longari / AFP
