Is it communication failure that led to the Lonmin Massacre



South African police opened fire on striking miners armed with machetes and sticks at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine on Thursday. ( Reuters news headline)

It's unfortunately disturbing to read the above Reuters News headline about our lovely South Africa that made international headline news on Reuters, BBC and Sky news, because the image that the world-  investors portray at the end about South Africa is not good after all.When I saw a footage of Police shooting Lonmin workers yesterday on  19h00 E-News,I was dismayed and remained with lot of questions of what exactly went wrong where did the communication failure occurred,did the communication practitioners of the responsible parties manage to communicate with their members accordingly or they just failed to ease the crisis that occurred in Lonmin, unfortunately we cannot undo what has happened.

SAPS member shooting live ammunisation to the mine workers.
(http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-08-17-lonmins-killing-fields-the-inevitable-tragic-next-move)

As Pubic Relations Practitioners it's part of our duty to ensure that workers are satisfied and comfortable with the working conditions  and benefit they get from our organisations because at the end they are the ones that make am organisation succeed and meet the targets, goals an vision/mission because with no doubt it's highly difficult to succeed alone without extra hands and make the organisation operate effectively.According to my views the Communication department and the Management of Lonmin failed to honour the workers demands of getting decent better salaries thus it led to the loose of lives.How can mine workers of the world's largest platinum producer still earn less that R5000.00 ? another question that arises is that is the  management only thinking of themselves careless towards meeting the workers ?, demands if so then what is the communication department of Lonmin doing or has done to make sure that workers have high spirit of working hard and make the Lonmin succeed.I still maintain my opinion that this crisis (Lonmin Massacre) could have been long time prevented if Lonmin Management acted early before unions and its worked embarked on a violent strike that caused +/- 35 lives of the mine workers.

                      Lonmin Massacre Video  www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImqAVon92VM

One of the Lonmin values is To enhance the quality of life for our employees and their families and promote self esteem, then if so the question is if they really want to enhance their employees life and their families how can mine workers improve their lives while still earning less than R5000.00 ? This should be a lesson to other organisations that they must listen the demands and the need of the people who are working hard, who are getting the job done and who are making an organisation succeed, thus as Public Relation Practitioners this are the essential things that we ought to do to ensure that an organisation operate well :

•  we need to evaluate workers demands and needs.
• We must  maintain communication with employees pertaining workers issues
• We need to  find out what workers would like to see happening within the organisation
• the most essential thing is that we should not promise what the company would not offer.
•  We must have a consistent relationship with the workers Unions and start wages negotiations at the earlier stage to prevent unnecessary striking that may lead to loose of lives.
• Lastly the management should not forget that workers are the ones that get the job done,workers are the ones that satisfy clients therefore they also need to be satisfied and rewarded.

RELEASE YOUR VOICE.

L Buthelezi