8,500 striking miners sacked in S. Africa

JOHANNESBURG - About 8,500 striking miners at the KDC East mine in South Africa were fired by the Gold Fields company on Tuesday, local media reported.

Those miners were dismissed due to their ignoring an ultimatum to resume work, the South African Press Association quoted the Gold Fields company as saying.

On Friday, the company issued the final warning, demanding the striking miners to return to work by 4:00 pm local time on Tuesday or they would face dismissal.

The KDC East mine is located about 100 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg.

The company spokesperson Sven Lunsche said those miners would have 24 hours to appeal their dismissals.

The miners at the KDC East mine had been on strike since Oct 14, demanding the improvement of their working condition and rise of their monthly salary.

Gold Fields is a South African gold mining firm, being ranked the world's fourth largest gold producer with annualized production of 3.5 million gold equivalent ounces from eight operating mines in South Africa and some other countries.

It was believed that the way of dismissal is often part of a hard-ball negotiating strategy played by the mine owners.

The company sacked 1,500 striking miners at its KDC West mine on Oct 18, and most of them later appealed their dismissal.

On Oct 5, the world's largest platinum producer Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) announced it had fired 12,000 striking miners at its platinum mine near Johannesburg because they refused to resume work.