A strike in South Africa is still underway after roughly 10,000 platinum mineworkers quit working nearly a month ago. The workers are on strike in hopes of having their wages almost doubled. A workplace mediation committee said that they would be willing to negotiate if the workers would go back to work.

Though there have been promises for mediation, the strikers have been using violent force and threats against the lives of anyone who goes back to work. As might be expected, this has done little to remedy matters. And it's not confined to just one work site.

Workplace Mediation Desperately Needed

The platinum miners' strike seems to have advanced to another mine. This mine is a gold mine, however, and 15,000 workers have laid down their tools and equipment.

While the workers haven't yet made any demands to be discussed in mediation, the threat of violence against anyone who goes back to work is present.

It has been reported that many of the workers aren't just upset about their wages. They are also upset about their company's closeness with certain political powers.

Politics in any part of Africa can be a very emotionally charged game. When money is involved, many thousands of workers can easily add an igniting spark to the mixture.

No Civil Mediation in Sight

The platinum miners are demanding a large wage increase. Their employers say they couldn't sustain such an increase and it would bankrupt the company.

(Interestingly enough, this comes at about the same time that Gina Rinehart, the world's richest woman, claims that Australia's economy simply can't compete with “African mining companies that pay their workers $2 a day”.)

To make matters more complicated, the workers are divided into several factions. Some are behind unions and others are opposed to them. The mediators say they'll negotiate if the miners get back to work but the workers want the issue resolved first.

With so many workers and factions involved, the resolution to this issue is so far nowhere in sight. But until it is resolved, all we can do is hope that no more violence will ensue.