Maravi

Mine job losses will worsen tension – Sata

Mine job losses will worsen tension – Sata
Written by Lambwe Kachali
Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:28:08 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata yesterday said the retrenchment of mine workers on the Copperbelt will worsen the tension in the country. And Sata said some problems that Zambia is facing in the mining industry are a result of former president Frederick Chiluba's corruption.

Meanwhile, Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) acting secretary general Ian Mkandawire said the laying off of workers at Bwana Mkubwa Mine Limited in Ndola should send a strong message to the government to hasten its programme of employment creation.

Commenting on the retrenchment of 286 workers by Bwana Mkubwa Mine Limited and the 26 workers at Chambishi Metals who have been sent on forced leave, Sata said President Rupiah Banda would never stop irritating Zambians.

Sata said Zambians' tempers had not yet settled following the disputed October 30 election and that it was unacceptable for them to be angered further with the miners' retrenchment.

Sata claimed that President Banda was aware of what was obtaining in the mining industry and it was his responsibility to prevent them from laying off the already under-paid workers. He said President Banda was aware that most mines would lay off workers, and instead of finding a lasting solution, he preferred to remain mute on the matter.

"When I met [late president] Levy Mwanawasa, he showed me correspondence between the mines and government, which indicated that unless government revise the taxation and other production conditions, it was going to be difficult for the mines to maintain their level of production and level of the people who are employed. Now that was given to the late president in writing and he [late president Mwanawasa] replied in writing, in which he gave certain conditions and that they were still negotiating," Sata said.

He said President Banda's beginning was disastrous and urged him to show leadership on important national issues.

Sata said it was sad that despite the high unemployment levels in the country, workers were still being retrenched and therefore made vulnerable.

"With the retrenchment on the Copperbelt, the tension is going to be higher; this is definitely going to heighten the tension. It will worsen the tension, increase crime, increase uncertainty, and make our economy very bleak because more people will be in the streets, jobless. And Rupiah Banda, I am sure he has now over-enjoyed his honeymoon. He should get out of that State House and work so that we get somewhere," he said.

Sata suggested that President Banda should scrap the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) so that the country could save the K400 billion allocated to the institution.

He said the K400 billion could be channeled to other sectors of the economy, which were on the verge of collapsing.

"Even Mr. [Leonard] Hikaumba, he is vice-chairman of NCC, is getting K18 million per month, a former mere civil servant, how can he speak for the miners? Majority of MPs with 22 from PF are in NCC, swimming in hefty money from NCC. How can they speak for the people?" Sata asked.

"My advice to government is to scrap the NCC for the time being and save K400 billion, because NCC won't produce the Constitution tomorrow. And since there is so much money involved, it can go up to 2020, because the people who are there would like by the time they come out they are billionaires. So we have to cut on unnecessary expenditure.

"The second unnecessary expenditure is to cut the number of government officials. Do we need two ministers in one ministry? Do we need two permanent secretaries in one ministry? Those are some of the difficulties we have. The current government is too big and very extravagant. It is extravagant to only 150 people plus few others. But the people on the ground are not being looked after."

Sata said the government should focus on creating more jobs and not to cause misery in the country.

"...Now Rupiah cannot rule trees and animals. In a country where you have the highest unemployment levels in the region, we are supposed to create employment. We are not supposed to create more unemployment because the more unemployed people become, the higher the poverty. We are supposed to reduce poverty not increase it," Sata said.

And Sata said Chiluba was also to blame for the current crisis because of the manner in which he privatised the mines.

He said Chiluba's corrupt tendencies had continued to impact negatively on the lives of majority poor Zambians.

"When these mines were sold in a very corrupt manner supervised by Chiluba, there was no re-investment in them. The agreement among the Republic of Zambia and the people who were coming to buy the mines was that before they are sold, government should first re-invest in them. Unfortunately, Chiluba did not want to respect the agreement and that's why you saw some few mining companies like Anglo-American and RAMCOZ left," he said.

"The whole privatisation process was diluted by Chiluba's corruption. All the companies which he privatised, there wasn't a single company which brought any benefits to the people of Zambia. And there was no way Chiluba was going to query the mining companies for giving slave wages to Zambian workers as well as failure to pay those who were retrenched their terminal benefits..."

Meanwhile, Mkandawire urged the government to establish what was happening in the mining sector. He also appealed to stakeholders to discuss the crisis in the mining industry in order to stabilise the issue of employment.

"Mining companies should not use the global financial crisis to get back at government as a way of expressing their displeasure over the mineral tax regime which government introduced this year. Mineral prices have affected mining operations all over the world but mining companies in other parts of the world have not rushed into shedding off labour as the case in Zambia," said Mkandawire.

Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) president Cephas Mukuka said it was clear that Zambians had started feeling the negative impact of privatisation.

Mukuka observed that the shrinking workforce would now force the government to increase Pay as You Earn in order to mitigate revenue loss, which would arise.

"We are not against foreign investors but this development is a litmus paper for Mr Rupiah Banda to be on the alert because the worst is yet to happen," said Mukuka.

Bwana Mkubwa Mine Limited is reported to have retrenched 286 workers, while Chambishi Metals has sent 26 on forced leave, with Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi earmarking about 50 workers for retrenchment.

Recently, 259 Atlas Copco workers at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) lost their jobs after the latter terminated the former's contract. The current global financial meltdown coupled with low production levels have forced the firms to start thinking of measures to mitigate the impact.

The imminent loss of employment at Atlas Copco came after KCM terminated the Maintenance and Repair Contract (MARC) worth at least US$1.2 million monthly that it held with Atlas Copco.

Among those losing their jobs were artisans in heavy equipment repair, power and auto electricians, boiler makers, stores personnel, site administrators and other administrative staff.

KCM has also started terminating the contracts of employees on fixed-term contracts.
Well placed sources at Mopani also revealed that 879 employees engaged by contractors at two different shafts had been retrenched as of last week.

Luanshya Copper Mines has also laid off eight expatriate workers as a way of saving costs in the wake of the global financial crisis.

National Union of Miners and Allied Workers Union (NUMAW) president Mundia Sikufele said the union had asked the mining companies to get back to the drawing board to see how they could cut on costs without pruning workers.

Mine Suppliers and Contractors Association president Fanwell Banda expressed fear over the threat that the fall in the copper prices would pose to suppliers.

Labels: CEPHAS MUKUKA, FANWELL BANDA, IAN MKANDAWIRE, JOBLOSSES, JOBS, MINING, NUMAW, SATA, ZCTU, ZUFIAW

posted by MrK @ 11:30 AM