Miners celebrate wage deal to end 
strike that saw 45 killed in clashes

The second strike is at Amplats mine near Rustenburg, owned by Anglo American Platinum which earlier claimed its workers were not striking, but that it had shut down operations to ensure their safety against violent threats.

At Marikana, the scene of the now-settled strike by Lonmin miners, thousands gathered and sang at a football stadium.

Lonmin agreed to pay rises and a bonus for returning to work.

“I am so happy,” said Mvenyeza Luhlaziyao, 48, a painter at the mines. “I try to forget the past and continue to move forward to build on the company and make it all all right. We must continue to build the company and management must listen to us in the future. People didn’t care about us, that’s why we decided to go on strike.”

Riddick Mofokeng, another miner, said he also felt good about the deal. “It is not what we expected to get, but it is great,” he said. “Most of the people, we are ready to go back to work.”

Zolisa Bodlani, a leader for the mine workers in the strikes, said the agreement is noteworthy. “If no people were killed, I’d say this was a great achievement,” he said.

Delegates from unions, strikers not represented by unions, and the London-registered company signed the final wage deal late on Tuesday night, ending a strike with huge political and economic repercussions.