(HERALD) Chinese contractor denies abusing Zimbawean workers

Chinese contractor denies abusing Zimbawean workers
Wednesday, 11 January 2012 00:00
Herald Correspondent

A CHINESE contractor building the vast national defence college in Zimbabwe last Friday denied it was abusing Zimbabwean workers.

The contractor, Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Company (AFECC), said reports of ill-treatment of local workers were false and meant to tarnish Zimbabwe-China relations and the good work the company was doing in the country.

AFECC's comment comes in the wake of a recent article by a British newspaper which was carried by the local media alleging widespread abuse of workers at the construction site located a few kilometers north of Harare.

"The aim (of the article) is very bad for China-Zimbabwe relations, especially for the national defence college," said James Zhang, a senior official from AFECC.

He denied allegations that the company paid poor salaries and over-worked its employees, saying the company adhered to the country's labour statutes guiding the construction industry.

Workers were paid National Employment Council rates of US$1,27 per hour and normal rates for overtime; were provided with protective clothing and given free lunch and supper among other conditions, Zhang, speaking through an interpreter, said.

Zhang said the least-paid worker gets an average of US$250 per month, a figure he said compared favourably with other construction companies in the country.

The company ran video footage of workers on the construction site, which it said is taken daily, to prove false some of the allegations.

"The article says there is physical punishment and psychological scare to the local workers but this is not true. It has not happened before. We give all our workers safety shoes and clothes and we have a Chinese safety inspector on site."

Zhang said workers sometimes worked overtime but this was not forced as employees could choose to either work extra hours or not. Those who worked normal hours always got their normal pay, he said, quashing the article's allegations that workers were forced to work overtime to get normal pay.

A Zimbabwean cook working at the construction site confirmed to Xinhua that working overtime was optional. "We are not forced to work overtime. My pay rate is calculated per hour so whenever I feel I need a rest I do not come to work but if I need more money I work extra hours," said 29 year-old Washington Kakwere who resides at the complex.

His colleague, Tapiwa Chubvu, expressed satisfaction with his salary and said he worked well with his Chinese manager.

Zhang admitted that there were sometimes minor misunderstandings between Chinese and local workers due to language and culture differences.

Twenty-seven year old Norman Kativu told Xinhua he was generally happy with the conditions of service though there was room for improvement.

"Some of the misunderstandings do occur due to problems in communication. Sometimes my boss asks me to bring a certain product and I bring a wrong one, and we end up quarrelling. At times we are also not provided with adequate protective clothing like gloves," he said.

Work on the US$98 million defence college started in December 2010 and the Chinese are targeting to complete construction of the massive project in a record time of one and a half years. The project agreement had a construction time of three years.
Commenting on the same allegations, Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Peters from Zimbabwe's Ministry of Defence dismissed the abuse claims as a "false creation from a futile mind".

"There is no figment of truth (in the article) and I do not want to dignify it any further because it is a false creation," he said.

He further dismissed the article as a "borrowed article originating from a foreign country, a former coloniser who has been hostile" to Zimbabwe.


The senior defence official said it was natural for misunderstandings to occur between the local workers and the Chinese but added these were being amplified by the country's detractors to soil relations between the two countries.

"It's natural that we sometimes have misunderstandings due to divergent thinking and it is not new because even in our industries, workers go on strike," he said.

The report also referred to the college as a "Robert Mugabe national school of intelligence", but Lt Col Peters rejected this, saying the institution was an international college that was ratified by the Zimbabwe Parliament.

"This college is going to accept foreign students from friendly Sadc countries and outside Sadc, including countries such as Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria," he said.
Another senior military official told Xinhua Sadc countries were showing great interest in the defence college and some defence ministers and army commanders from the regional grouping had visited the college

to see the construction work as well as offer advice where necessary.

Lt Col Peters echoed Zhang's sentiments on remuneration, saying workers at the company were paid according to NEC rates.

"If they want more money, they should make representations so that rates are pushed up," he said.

The company employs close to 700 workers made up of 500 Zimbabweans and 190 Chinese.

In praising the Chinese contractor for its diligence, Lt Col Peters said he was yet to find a company that has a huge construction capacity as that of AFECC, which is believed to lay 1 500 bricks a day.

"No British company is able to do that in a year. I am yet to find a company that can put that huge project in a year," he said. He defended the security around the college, saying this was meant to prevent thefts

that dogged the project in its early stages and besides, he said every military establishment was guarded by soldiers. The giant college, due for completion this May, has already taken shape with most of the structures above 80 percent complete.
Landscaping is underway at the college which will comprise at least three big lecture blocs, a four- storey headquarters, a sports stadium, gymnasium and a parade square among other structures.