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Anglo American Platinum says it has sacked 12 000 workers taking part in an illegal strike.
Amplats said on Friday that these workers had failed to make representations at disciplinary hearings which have been concluded.
Spokesperson, Mpumi Sithole, says as a consequence they have been dismissed in absentia.
"Disciplinary hearings for striking Rustenburg mine employees have been completed and affected employees will be informed of the outcome of the hearings today," she said.
"Those employees will have three working days to appeal the outcome. Approximately 12,000 striking employees chose not to make representations, nor attend the hearings, and have therefore been dismissed in their absence," Sithole said.
The mining giant says despite repeated calls for employees to return to work, "we have continued to experience attendance levels of less than 20%."
"Currently four of the company's mining operations in the Rustenburg area have insufficient staff to operate and only essential services are being carried out at those mines," said Sithole.
"Our Rustenburg concentrators, smelters and refineries and Bathopele Mine continue to operate normally."
Anglo American Platinum also said that it had begun to "experience strike contagion" at its Union and Amandelbult operations, where workers have presented memorandums of demands similar to those received in Rustenburg.
The company says a result of the illegal industrial strike it lost 39 000 ounces of platinum production resulting in lost revenue of approximately R700 million.
Chris Griffith, Anglo American Platinum CEO, says: "The Company is committed to participating in the Platinum centralised engagement structures driven by the Chamber of Mines, as well as exploring the possibility of bringing forward wage negotiations within our current agreements."
"Anglo American Platinum continues to work with the local authorities and other stakeholders to support the restoration of law and order to the affected areas."
Meanwhile, the National Union of Mineworkers said its disappointed at the decision even though the strike is illegal.
NUM's Lesiba Seshoka said "as normal as the union we would look at the possibility of engaging Anglo Platinum on this to say lets look at this properly because this is not helping anybody."
"It's not helping us, it's not helping them, it's actually exacerbating an already volatile situation," he said.
