We do need peacekeeping but also leaders of calibre

A peacekeeping force for the troubled mining industry is definitely a good idea.

But it is not enough.

Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant revealed on Monday that the government was considering deploying a peacekeeping force in a bid to restore calm to an industry that has been hard-hit by violence related to union rivalry.

Her remarks follow the shooting of two National Union of Mineworkers members at Lonmin's Western Platinum mine.

One of the men died at the scene, the other one was taken to hospital.

The shooting was the latest in a series of violent incidents that has engulfed the platinum belt, mainly because of a union turf war between the Cosatu-affiliated NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).

This rivalry, which is often accompanied by wildcat strikes, has not only destabilised the mining sector but has wreaked havoc in the rest of the economy.

Oliphant said she would discuss the proposal with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who last week was appointed by President Jacob Zuma to head a high-powered government intervention team to deal with labour unrest in the mining sector.

"We will discuss that with the deputy president; if there is a need for that it will have to be in the mining sector as a whole," Oliphant said.

Given the continuing killings and intimidation, as well as the police's patent failure to arrest the culprits and bring stability to the area, such a force is now a matter of urgency.

But, even with such a drastic measure, long-term stability is unlikely to return until the leaders of the rival unions reach an acceptable level of maturity.

That point was sharply driven home on Monday at a meeting with the two unions convened by Oliphant and Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu.

By all accounts, the gathering degenerated into a war of words, with Amcu and NUM trading insults and accusing each other of fuelling the violence.

An angry Senzeni Zokwana, NUM's president and a member of the ANC's national executive committee, led a Cosatu walkout from the meeting.

He later accused Amcu of "vigilantism" and said the rival union's call for NUM to be evicted from its offices at Lonmin was directly responsible for the latest killing.

Though NUM's outrage over the killing of one of its members is understandable, storming out of the very meetings that are supposed to help bring about peace assists no one.

Instead of sitting down and ironing out their differences, NUM and Amcu have been guilty of public grandstanding at the expense of their members and the country's economy at large.

We have seen in recent weeks, with the mining sector gearing up for the latest round of wage negotiations, the two unions threatening to put forward unrealistic wage demands.

Though, in the short-term, such a strategy might help win either of the unions the hearts and minds of the long-suffering mineworkers, it is a recipe for disaster in the long run.

Mineworkers have always been the backbone of the organised labour movement in this country. This was not just due to the leading role the mining sector has played in the country's economy.

It was also because of the calibre of the trade union leaders the industry tended to produce.

Most of them were visionaries who, while faithfully representing their core constituency, never lost sight of the bigger picture.

It is, therefore, no accident that today we find former mining sector unionists playing key roles in business, the government and other sectors of society.

Among those who have come through the mining trade union ranks are Motlanthe, ANC deputy president and businessman Cyril Ramaphosa, and former MTN boss Irene Charnley.

During their time as unionists, these leaders' maturity often helped the industry avoid calamity, even at times of high tensions between workers and employers.

In these times of market turbulence for the mining industry, and slowing economic growth for the rest of the country, NUM and Amcu should display that kind of visionary and mature leadership.

What is the use of becoming the largest union in your sector if, in the process, you destroy thousands of jobs through your actions?

Unless the two unions recognise the harm they are causing, especially to their members, we are headed for major turbulence this winter.

There is no denying that mine-workers are among the most exploited in the country and that their struggle for decent wages is justified.

But there is a real danger that, in a bid to win new members, or protect the ones they already have, the two unions will make ridiculous demands and threaten the survival of many mines.

With investors already weary of putting their money into the industry, NUM and Amcu should resist such temptations and put the interests of the whole country first.

The government, on the other hand, should speed up the process of deploying the peacekeeping force to ensure that those guilty of murder and intimidation are prosecuted without delay.