At the time of the Marikana massacre, take home wages for mineworkers were as little as R4 000. Today, the lowest-paid underground worker gets over R16 000. But for the crowd gathered at Wonderkop on Wednesday, the victory came at a bitter cost.
Some 10 000 people gathered to commemorate the 11 year anniversary of the Marikana massacre. Pictured are Seabane Ramatlama and Motlatse Mathiso.It has been 11 years since the deadly strikes that led to the killing of mineworkers at Marikana in 2012.But the cost remains bitter for those commemorating the tragedy.On the iconic koppie of Wonderkop, Marikana in the North West, thousands gathered to commemorate the massacre of striking mineworkers on this day 11 years ago.
Unlike the strikers of August 2012, the people on the koppie in 2023 look happier, well fed, and certainly not thirsty. Still, some of the workers News24 spoke to on Wednesday said the only good change they have seen in their lives are the better wages they have since won. Mineworkers were paid take-home wages of R4 000 to R6 000 at the time. They went on strike to demand wages of R12 500 per month at the entry level. The wages have since risen to take-home pay of more than R16 000 per month for the lowest-paid underground worker.
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