South African police fire rubber bullets and teargas at striking workers at Amplats' Thembelani mine.<br/> <br />Bullet casings were left scattered on the ground and one protester, unable to walk, was treated by paramedics at the scene.<br/> <br />The group of workers are among a few who have refused to return to work on Tuesday despite an offer by the company to reinstate 12,000 men sacked for taking part in a six-week wildcat walkout at the mine.<br/> <br />Amplats, the world's biggest producer of platinum, said last week it had reached a deal with several unions to end the strike.<br/> <br />A return to work on Tuesday was one of the conditions attached to the deal.<br/> <br />However, workers said they were determined to stay away until Amplats matched a salary increase of up to 22 percent offered by rival Lonmin after a violent wildcat walkout at its nearby Marikana platinum mine in August.<br/> <br />The Lonmin offer came in the wake of the police killing of 34 miners on August 16, the bloodiest security incident since apartheid.<br/> <br />While the situation at Amplats has yet to be resolved, tensions at other mining companies have eased.
