Marikana miners' strike
2012 CE.
Shown on the map at -25.678°, 27.509°.
The Marikana massacre was the killing of thirty-four miners by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 August 2012 during a six-week wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana near Rustenburg in South Africa's North West province. The massacre constituted the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the Soweto uprising in 1976 and has been compared to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. The massacre occurred on the seventh day of an unauthorized wildcat strike at the mine which was launched without the endorsement of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The strikers sought a wage increase to be negotiated outside the existing collective wage agreement. Early reports suggested that they had been encouraged by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). When the NUM refused to represent their demands and Lonmin refused to meet with them, the mineworkers launched the strike on 10 August 2012.
Text from the Wikipedia article Marikana massacre, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.