I would like to invite the hon Groenewald to listen to a song called Stimela, composed by Hugh Masekela, which talks about the conditions that mineworkers in the past found themselves in. That song is relevant even today, because the compound system and the food that workers are eating are really out of this world, and actually unimaginable. This makes me think that the cold, dead hand of apartheid is still strangling our people. You see that very well in the mining sector.
Here I define apartheid as rule by monopoly capital with open-race terror, and those who had their eyes and ears open during the war for liberation in this country will know what I am talking about when I refer to open-race terror. [Interjections.]
The history of industrial relations in the mining sector is not a pleasant one by any stretch of the imagination. Whilst it can be argued that the mining sector in South Africa was the foundation on which this economy was founded and continues to be the backbone of the South African economy, the industry does not seem to have moved with the times. A number of commentators lament the fact that beneficiating our mineral exploits is nowhere near what it should be. The same could be said about the general industrial relations environment in the sector.
Despite attempts created by democracy to promote the democratisation of the workplace, the new political democracy in South Africa is not reflected in the workplace, particularly in the mining sector.
A survey, based on a sample of 23 000 South African employees, confirms that workplaces are still controlled by employers who are interested in profit and often couldn't care less about the wellbeing of employees. This was demonstrated well by the hon Gona, with the disparities in what workers earn and what the CEOs of these companies are earning. This shows that there are still poor working conditions, job insecurity and lack of employee involvement in decision-making processes.
The workplace is becoming exceedingly adversarial, with workers finding themselves in a perpetual fight for survival. This places an enormous amount of pressure on the trade unions. This pressure often leads to strikes, with or without the sanction of the trade union leadership. More and more workers consider a strike as their only weapon to counter the power of the employer. The tension between the interests of maintaining profitability and the demands of workers for a living wage has reached a critical point in the history of industrial relations in this country.
The South African mining industry is worth R357 billion, is the largest on the African continent, employs many people and contributes a sizeable portion to the gross domestic product, GDP. On the painful side, though, are the high levels of fatalities which continue to afflict South Africa. The commission of inquiry into safety and health in the mining industry, headed by Judge Ramon Leon, reported in 1995 that some 69 000 people were killed in South Africa's mining industry in the 20th century, with one million seriously injured, maimed and physically damaged workers.
Mr Godsell made the point that the mining costs to the country in blood and human life was so great that it deserved to be commemorated at the level of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington. We should recognise each victim by name. This is not a story to be proud of, surely?
To answer the hon Mazibuko: the number of people who die in South African mines is very high, but we cannot forget those who died some years ago and only remember those who have died now. The loss of life is a very hurtful thing to us as the ANC, and we will never forget that there are people who died making the rich even richer in this country. [Interjections.]
Although the CEOs of South African mining companies have determined that 2013 will be the year in which South Africa's mine safety is brought on par with mine safety in industrialised countries like Canada, the US and Australia, the author of Falling Ground, a book on mining safety, Dr Philip Frankel, has expressed scepticism that the 2013 safety target will be attained, let alone sustained. We are still very far from this because there is no commitment from the mining magnates to make sure that peoples' working conditions are improved.
The lack of transformation and huge income inequalities as they exist in the mining industry make one cringe at the old doctrine in mining that says: Extract most at the least cost. You have shareholders who invest their money in mining operations, while workers risk their lives on the other hand. Some of these workers who work on the mines live in squalor and in shacks. If you go to Marikana, where I was a few weeks ago, you'll see that the people who work on the mines live in a shantytown. There is a squatter area just next to the mine and you can see, even when looking at the children who live in that area, that they are undernourished, health facilities ... I mean, people don't have access to anything that will make their lives better. This reflects on a line in Masekela's song which says: "Sixteen hours or more a day for almost no pay". [Time expired.] [Applause.]