Johannesburg - Striking mineworkers carrying dangerous weapons and provoking the police is disturbing, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said on Friday.
“The police should not be put in a position where they have to act against individuals who break the law,” Ipid executive director Robert McBride said in a statement.
Ipid was concerned about people being killed, the destruction of property, and intimidation of non-strikers and their families.
“While the right to strike is enshrined in our Constitution, such expression should be done within the framework of the law. The police have the responsibility to protect life, limb, and property.”
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union members at Lonmin, Impala Platinum, and Anglo American Platinum in Rustenburg, North West, and at Northam, in Limpopo, downed tools on January 23 demanding a basic salary of R12,500 a month.
They have rejected the companies' offer of a 10 percent increase, to take them to a minimum of R12,500 by 2017.
Amcu leaders have vowed to persist with the strike.
Sapa