Mopani Copper Mines retrenches 978 workers

Mopani Copper Mines retrenches 978 workers
Written by Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 4:57:25 PM

MOPANI Copper Mines (MCM) has retrenched 978 workers. And Zain Zambia Plc is expected to discharge some workers as the country's leading mobile phone company restructures operations in line with its parent company, Zain Group which is streamlining global operations to reach growth targets by 2011.

Sources told The Post that MCM on Monday laid off over 500 workers in Kitwe and over 400 in Mufulira. The sources indicated that the mining firm had also closed some of its departments that included industrial engineering and In Situ at Nkana in Kitwe.

And one of the retrenched Mopani workers, Haggai Chishimba, who spoke in disbelief, said he did not know what to do.

"Why should the government contradict itself?" asked Chishimba. "Today it says it's going to stop pruning and the next day the investor does something else."

Chishimba, who was in the company of fellow MCM retrenchees, said the government knew beforehand that workers would be retrenched going by mines minister Maxwell Mwale's silence.

"I don't know what to do next because the Copperbelt depends on the mines. We've got loans with Barclays and Barclays is getting everything," Chishimba said.

Another retrenched miner O'Brien Musenge, who was retrenched while he was on shift, said the workers should have been given time to prepare their exit other than an immediate-effect-pruning.

Lawrence Banda, complained that the retrenchment package was too little as it was K7 million less than those of his peers who were retrenched in February.

And according to letters handed to some of the miners signed by Mopani chief processing officer T. Gonzales and dated April 30, 2009, the mining company pruned workers it considered excess labour.

"Following reorganisation and labour rationalisation at Mopani Copper Mines Plc, you have been identified as excess to the labour requirement in your department," stated Gonzales. "Therefore, we wish to advise that your employment with this company has been terminated. Accordingly, your last shift will be 4th May 2009, on which date all employment obligations shall cease. You will be paid terminal benefits for your service as follows: i) two months' pay for each completed year of service pro rata. ii) repatriation allowance in accordance with conditions of employment and service. iii) one month's pay in lieu of notice. iv) your accrued MCM (Mopani Copper Mines) pension in accordance with pension rules. v) long service award if you have completed nine or 19 or 29 years of continuous service. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the service you have rendered and wish you success in your future endeavours."

Efforts to reach Mopani officials failed as mobile phones for both chief executive officer Emmanuel Mutati and chief services officer Passmore Hamukoma went unanswered.

And Patriotic Front (PF) Mufulira district vice chairperson Francis Mumba expressed particular concern at the retrenchment of medical personnel at the Mopani-run Malcom Watson Hospital.

"Why retrench medical personnel when we have a big shortage of medical personnel in the country?" he wondered.

Mumba said people on the Copperbelt were tired of retrenchments.

"These investors are running this country and not the government. Today the investors say they have rescinded the decision and will not fire workers and then they turn around and say they will fire workers," Mumba said. "Government should put its foot down and say enough is enough."

Last week, MCM rescinded its decision to close its Mufulira operation and place its shafts in Kitwe under care and maintenance.

The company was considering closing some operations and place some under care and maintenance owing to the fall in world copper prices from highs of close to US $9,000 per tonne early to mid last year to around US $3,000 per tonne later in the same year.

Following the Mopani announcement last week, labour deputy minister Simon Kachimba indicated that there would be some "minor injuries" to the Mopani workforce.

Kachimba said after meeting management at Mopani that the workforce, which stood at 7,264 would remain in the regions of 7,000.

However, the 978 laid off on Monday bring the labour force at Mopani to 6,286.

And Zain Group will reduce its current 15,500 global workforce by 2,000 across the board.

"The Zain Group will align its head office and operations structures in accordance with the new operating model. This will result in Zain reducing its current 15,500 global workforce by 2,000 [equivalent to a 13 per cent reduction] across the board," disclosed the Group through a statement made available by Zain Zambia Plc public relations officer Kennedy Mambwe in response to a press query from The Post.

The confirmation from the Kuwait headquartered company followed growing anxiety among most Zain Zambia Plc employees who recently feared for their jobs after management recently sent them a memo informing them about the impending job losses which was likely to be implemented by August this year.

It was not immediately clear how many workers would be fired from the Zambian branch and when the restructuring would be implemented.

The statement also disclosed that Zain operations in Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi and Sierra Leone had already begun the process of reducing employment levels.

The pending countries were Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

However, there was little indication that the ongoing reforms were triggered by the current global economic crisis.

The statement announced that Zain Group chief executive officer Dr Saad Al Barrak announced a new program to propel the company towards its 2011 target of being a top ten global mobile telecommunications operator following a strategic meeting with senior Zain executives from all 22 African and Middle East operations.

According to the statement, "Drive2011" would focus on customer facing services and commercial activities while centralizing or outsourcing some back office/non-core functions to strategic partners.

"Drive2011 is a natural consequence of Zain's evolutionary journey. It was planned soon after the launch of our ACE strategy in 2007 and is a structured and timetabled approach to maximizing efficiency," Dr Al Barrak commented. "We will create genuine market differentiation through our services and deliver on our Zain brand promise of 'a wonderful world'. This will be achieved through a combination of managed outsourcing, centralization and leveraging capabilities, as well as training and development for our personnel, all of which will improve our operating efficiencies."

The statement further noted that the new strategy, which comes at a vital stage of the company's "3x3x3" vision that commenced in 2003, would maximize economies of scale and realize significant efficiencies, allowing Zain to provide communication services such as voice, SMS [Short Message Service] and data at an optimum cost structure.

"Drive2011 is expected to improve Zain's operating margin by five per cent within 12 months and provide the company the necessary thrust to capture the future growth potential of the markets in which it operates," the statement read in part.

Additionally, the statement also announced during the same meeting, Dr Al Barrak also made several senior management changes both at Group and country operation level, a move aimed at tackling the challenges ahead and attaining other 2011 targets of 150 million customers and a US $6 billion EBITDA.

Most Zain Zambia Plc workers had in recent times been gripped by fear following the recent intimation of the impending retrenchments by management at the company which controls about 78 per cent of the mobile phone sector in the country.

"You can't have a peace of mind when you know that each time you go for work in the morning, you might be given a letter of terminating your contract," said one employee who declined to be named.