Maravi

Lumwana signs pact with MUZ, NUMAW

Lumwana signs pact with MUZ, NUMAW
By David Chongo in Solwezi
Tue 02 Feb. 2010, 04:01 CAT

LUMWANA Mining Company (LMC) has signed an agreement with the Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) together with the National Union of Mine Workers and Allied Workers (NUMAW) to have, among others terms, its unionised workers put on permanent and pensionable employment contracts.

According to some of the details in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) agreed at Lumwana and obtained by The Post in Solwezi, the employees, who were previously on operational fixed term contracts, would now be put on permanent and pensionable employment contracts effective January 1, 2010.

Furthermore, they will be entitled to a fixed increase of K300, 000 for the lowest paid employee with a basic pay of K1, 495, 635 and K600, 000 for the highest paid unionised worker earning K3, 985, 540 representing a salary raise of between 20.1 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively.

In the new agreement, the workers will also receive K75, 000 as education allowance for each child or registered dependent up to a limit of four with the company providing transport for the children to schools along Mwinilunga Road until government builds one at Lumwana.

Additionally, the workers have also been accorded optional medical schemes with Lumwana endeavouring to ensure the selected medical scheme providers deliver beneficial services to the miners.

Lumwana has also undertaken to initiate, together with the unions, a social security pension scheme before the end of the first quarter of this year.
“The parties agree that at individual's choice, employees will be eligible to contribute 6 per cent of basic pay and the company will additionally contribute 7.5 per cent of the employee's basic pay towards a social security pension scheme,” it stated.

While the meeting agreed to a 35 per cent housing allowance of basic pay for employees in rented or mortgaged company accommodation and 13 per cent for those still in temporary boarding quarters provided by Lumwana, they also agreed to reduce the interest rate on mortgage from 12.5 to 5 per cent with a long term pledge to provide accommodation for its workers. For those employees in company houses, the 35 per cent allowance would service their mortgages.

The miners have also been signed to funeral grants ranging from K3 million for employees coupled with services of a professional funeral parlour, K2 million for spouses and K1.2 million for children or dependents.

And speaking in an interview, Lumwana managing director, Adam Wright said the company was satisfied with the manner and terms of the new agreement for the financial year 2010.

He said as a company, they were pleased to have agreed the CBA with the MUZ and NUMAW adding that it (CBA) puts LMC in a competitive position in the labour market with a focus on the introduction of permanent employment contracts for its workers and that the agreement was consistent with the projected mine life of more than 37 years.

Wright said the agreement was a fair settlement for Lumwana and provides a positive position for the company plans for 2010.

And welcoming the 2010 agreement, MUZ general secretary, Oswell Munyenyembe has said while the improved terms may have partly been a reward for the workers hardwork after Lumwana posted a 23 per cent increase in copper production in the last quarter of 2009, as a good employer who has invested a lot in equipment, the mining company also needed to invest much in the workers’ welfare.

He said the general membership of the unions at Lumwana was satisfied with the first CBA between the parties considering that Lumwana was a Greenfield.

Labels: LUMWANA MINING COMPANY, MUZ, NUMAW, SALARIES

posted by MrK @ 11:26 AM