by Skyler Reid / SF Bay View
Nomfanelo Jali stirs porridge she hopes will quell her children’s chronic hunger. Food has been scarce since her husband joined 80,000 workers on strike with South Africa’s main mineworkers’ union, AMCU.
“It’s very difficult,” Jali said. “None of us has got food.”
The strike, now four months long, is the longest – and costliest – in the nation’s history. Platinum production in the country accounts for 40 percent of the global market, and the work stoppage has pushed up the price of the metal worldwide.
But workers say they’re determined to hold out until they get the raise they’re asking for – more than double what they currently earn