/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) strongly condemns the barbaric and brutal killing of a mineworker and several others injured in police attack on striking members of the Peruvian miners’ federation at Shougang yesterday.

Information received by the NUM indicates that thousands of miners were protesting on May 25  when the police opened fire, killing one mineworker and several others were injured. According to reports, it appears that the arrival of a military plane in what was a legal strike inflamed  the protesters. The shooting occurred in the midst of a general strike that started on the 18 May 2015, over pay demands and a host of grievances, including the dismissal of dozens of unionized workers.

Another demand was for the respect of the rights of contract workers. Many of the workers (including many employed directly in mining) are employed by a subcontracted ‘service provider’, which is in the process of being bought by Adecco Consulting, which is apparently refusing to employ unionized workers or to respect seniority.

The NUM send its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and our affiliate FNTMMSP (‘Federación Minera’).

Issued by NUM