South African police yesterday fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades in clashes with Anglo American Platinum miners, as a deadline passed for 12,000 sacked workers to reclaim their jobs.

Thousands of miners defied an ultimatum to return to work by 7am (0500 GMT), fighting running battles with police, blocking roads and apparently setting fire to a power sub-station at the mine in north-western Rustenburg.

Many others also failed to clock in due to intimidation from colleagues, unions said.

“Police used teargas, stun grenades as well as rubber bullets,” to disperse the strikers, police spokesman Dennis Adriao told AFP.

Hours later water cannons, more tear gas and rubber bullets were being fired to drive away a fresh gathering of the workers in on-and-off clashes that broke out across the vast mine compound.

Adriao said the workers had blocked fire engines from the sub-station which was set alight in a pre-dawn attack. The Amplats workers were sacked earlier this month for going on an illegal strike. Last week the main National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and two other like-minded unions secured a deal for the workers to be rehired.