Police fire rubber bullets at S.Africa farm strikers
Source: Reuters
Police fire rubber bullets at S.Africa farm strikers
Wed, 9 Jan 2013 10:14 GMT
Source: reuters // Reuters
By Wendell Roelf
DE DOORNS, South Africa, Jan 9 (Reuters) - South African police fired rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of striking farm workers in the grape-growing Western Cape on Wednesday, the first clashes of a year that looked set to be dominated by fractious labour relations.
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Scores of riot police backed by at least one armoured vehicle responded with volleys of rubber bullets to keep the protesters from the roadside.
Africa's largest economy saw waves of labour unrest last year that began in the platinum mining industry and swept through the trucking and agriculture sectors.
The unrest, including the police killing of 34 miners at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine in August, tarnished South Africa's reputation among overseas investors and led to downgrades of its sovereign debt.
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