New South African mining minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi has pledged to mediate in a crippling platinum strike now in its fifth month and said the government needed to start treating the striking AMCU union with respect, local radio said on Tuesday.

Ramatlhodi, who was sworn in on Monday evening, also told Power FM that mining companies had not done enough "to address the well-being of workers", particularly in relation to the squalid living conditions seen around many mines.