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(LUSAKATIMES) Law must take its course on anyone who started the riots that resulted in death of a Chinese national-Sakeni

Law must take its course on anyone who started the riots that resulted in death of a Chinese national-Sakeni
TIME PUBLISHED - Sunday, August 5, 2012, 6:46 pm

Chief Government Spokesperson, Kennedy Sakeni, has said that the law must take its course on anyone who will be found guilty of causing the riots that resulted in the death of the Chinese national at Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe yesterday.

Mr Sakeni, who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister said that the issue of minimum wages allows employers and employees a platform and time to dialogue amicably without violence.

He said that there is no need for the miners to go to such extremes as to shed blood on a fellow worker over an issue which is clear and open for dialogue.

Mr Sakeni has urged the Ministry of Labour and law agencies to deal with the case decisively and leave no stone unturned until all those found wanting are brought to book.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) has condemned the killing of a Chinese miner at the embattled Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe.

NUMAW president Mundia Sikufele said that despite his organisation not having membership at the mine, the killing was barbaric and sends a wrong picture about Zambia to the outside world.

ZANIS reports that Mr Sikufele said that the incident shows the need for people to always embrace dialogue whenever they are grieved.

He explained that people should always aim at exhausting the good communication channels rather than engaging in violent activities that could lead to lose of lives.

Mr Sikufele has noted that what the miners did yesterday is disturbing to the labour Movement; hence stringent measures should be taken to ensure that such an incident does not repeat itself in future.

Yesterday a Chinese miner, Wu Shengzai aged, 50, was killed while another is battling for his life after other miners, particularly Zambians, rioted to protest against delays by management to effect the newly revised minimum wage payment.

The deceased died on the spot after being hit by a trolley that was pushed towards him by the rioting miners as he ran away into the underground tunnel where he wanted to seek refuge.

And Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda immediately called for thorough investigations into the killing of a Chinese national. Mr Shamenda has regretted that the riots had led to loss of life and described it as unfortunate and regrettable.

Mr Shamenda has wondered why the embattled Collumn Coal Mine continues to be a spot of tension between Zambian workers and Chinese investors. Mr Shamenda has since urged the workers to avoid taking the law into their own hands.

He said that the sad development at the mine should serve as a lesson for all workers and employers to follow the normal channel of communication. Mr. Shamenda who has since traveled to the Mine was speaking in an interview with TV2 News prior to his departure from Lusaka.

Mr Shamenda also said that Government was working out measures to ensure that the hike in the minimum wage does not become a source of industrial protests. Mr Shamenda said that protests and work stoppages negatively affect governments revenue collection.

Labels: CHINESE COLLUM COAL MINE, KENNEDY SAKENI, STRIKE

posted by MrK @ 2:06 AM