Social justice, corporate social responsibility and the South African mining industry

Abstract

The South African Mining Industry is confronted by a continual wave of labour unrest due to the unfulfilled socio-economic expectations of its employees and surrounding communities. The industry reportedly also has a very high wage gap between the mine workers and executives. This essay advocates for extensive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the South African mining industry not only to help address the socio-economic issues in and around mining communities but also to restore stability and ensure that the industry flourishes. As part of advancing my position, I show that the implementation of enlarged CSR by the mining industry is consistent with Rawls's account of justice and with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the South African government's Mining Charter. I argue that by embracing the concept of enlarged CSR and collaborating with its supplier base towards this end, the mining industry can improve socio-economic conditions and prevent the collapse of the industry much to the benefit of the mining industry and its stakeholders, including the citizens of South Africa at large who benefit from tax revenues generated by the industry.