JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A number of lessons were learnt by South Africa’s labour unions, as well as by platinum miner Lonmin, as a result of the events that took place at Marikana last year, Advocate Dali Mpofu stressed at labour law firm Werksmans Attorneys’ labour and employment seminar on Wednesday.

Mpofu, who is representing those who were injured and arrested during the Marikana incident, at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry, said one of the lessons learnt by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was to, in future, not create social distance between themselves and their membership.

This social distance could, over time, create problems, which could cause union members to, again, feel that they have to bypass the union, which is unsupportive of their needs, in order to assert those needs, he warned.

Further, Mpofu stated that the NUM had also learnt that, if it allowed itself to attract the label of a “sweetheart union”, it was likely to lose credibility among its members.

Meanwhile, Mpofu highlighted that the most important lesson learnt by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) was that trust was earned over time.

“Although AMCU was able to benefit from the disgruntled NUM members, who subsequently joined AMCU, there is still an element of distrust from the members towards the union. The level of required trust needs to be fostered by AMCU,” he said.

In addition, AMCU also realised that it would have to ensure that it had the capacity to deal with the growth in membership numbers. “From an employer’s perspective, AMCU will have to ensure that it has a properly represented union that is trustworthy and stable,” noted Mpofu.

Lastly, Mpofu believed that Lonmin had learnt that the role of the State, for example the police, needed to be carefully considered. “How one is going to engage the police is something you have to be careful about, as in the case of the Marikana tragedy,” said Mpofu.

He maintained that the workers felt that there was too much of a partnership between the police and Lonmin, and that workers had felt like it was a situation of us against them, which may have led to their becoming violent.

Another important lesson learnt by Lonmin was to, in future, think about the bigger picture and the snowball effect its actions could create for the rest of the mining industry. Mpofu was referring to the double-digit wage demands experienced throughout the country’s mining sector, which follow those made by Lonmin workers.

Mpofu believed that more profound lessons would be learnt once the Farlam Commission had finalised its findings, but maintained that, in light of all the lessons learnt, the positive outcome of the first commemoration of the Marikana tragedy was that it marked a new epoch in the history of the country – one that has seen the creation of a platform for future positive working relations.