Rustenburg, South Africa - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa abandoned his Labor Day speech in the northwestern city of Rustenburg on Sunday when striking miners stormed the stage.

The workers, employed at the Sibanye-Stillwater mine, are demanding a wage increase of 1000 rand (63 US dollars) per month instead of the 850 rand (54 dollars) offered by the mine.

Ramaphosa had decided to celebrate Labor Day, a public holiday in South Africa on May 1st, by giving a speech in front of union members in Rustenburg, a mining hub.

Ramaphosa was booed when he began his speech by calling on the striking workers and other members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions to calm down and listen to what he had to say. Ramaphosa told the protesting workers, "We will deal with this matter."

Soon after, Ramaphosa was forced to abandon his speech entirely when angry miners stormed the field and were

then escorted away from the scene.

The striking workers have become angrier in recent days due to reports that Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, earned more than 300 million rand (19 million dollars) in 2021 from salaries and company share plans.

Rustenburg, located in the North West province, is a turbulent area for Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress party in South Africa.

Many union members continue to blame them for the Marikana massacre, where 34 miners were killed by police gunfire during a strike at the Lonmin mine in 2012, when Ramaphosa was a non-executive director of Lonmin.

The noisy scene on Sunday points to the challenges Ramaphosa faces later this year in his efforts to be re-elected president of the African National Congress party since the unions are a key constituency for the party.