Hon Lorimer, yes, indeed, in terms of de-escalating the conflicts in the industry, this process has, in fact, achieved the required results. We take the view that the best deterrent against acts of violence is the knowledge that people will be arrested, and they are being arrested. In the two cases you have mentioned, the perpetrators have been arrested and they are facing charges. That's why you don't see ... As you've correctly pointed out, there was a strike at Northam Platinum that lasted for 11 weeks. It was peaceful throughout those weeks, there were no acts of violence.
Currently, we have a strike that is going into its sixth week involving Amcu in the platinum sector. Of course, they had declared a dispute without negotiating. We met with the CEOs of the companies, Amcu and their federation and persuaded them to get back to the negotiating table; hence, you read about these negotiations. Amcu indicated only yesterday, and the day before, that it has now revised its demands. Initially, when they declared a deadlock they did not make any move whatsoever. They regarded their letter of demand as a settlement position. So, we had to persuade them offline to get back to the negotiating table.
I would say that the process has attained its immediate aim. The short-term aim was really to ensure that no actions in the industry are accompanied by violence, because the right to strike is enshrined in the Constitution of the country. This process was, of course, never meant to facilitate negotiations. There are agencies that do that. When my colleague the Minister of Labour and I met with both parties, we offered our services as facilitators should they need it, but they were content to go the CCMA route. That's where the matter is.
We do speak to investors on an ongoing basis. Investors in the mining industry take a long-term view. They are not like speculators. They know that the right to strike and the right to lock-out are both part of the legislative framework. They are not alarmed or put off by the fact that these workers go out on strike. What is important to them ... [Time expired.]