KCM’s defence of outsourcing is lame excuse - NUMAW
By Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Sun 08 Aug. 2010, 04:00 CAT
NATIONAL Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) national secretary Goodwell Kaluba has described KCM’s defence over its decision to outsource some of its units as a lame excuse.
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Kaluba has blamed the government over what is transpiring at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in terms of outsourcing, observing that the mining giant cannot make such a decision without the blessings of the government.
Reacting to KCM spokesperson Rahul Kharkar’s explanation that the objectives of sub-contracting (outsourcing) were to increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve recoveries at the plant and that it was not designed to result into job losses, Kaluba said the issues of outsourcing at KCM had not began today.
“Those are just lame excuses because these issues have not started today. Even during negotiations in the other year and last year, KCM has always been showing negativity in terms of production. They have always claimed low production and low profits,” he said.
He wondered how KCM expected to run their plant efficiently when they had not paid any attention to rehabilitating their dilapidated equipment or buying new equipment altogether.
Kaluba observed that KCM’s failure to maintain its equipment was what was leading them to outsource.
“Much as they have done a lot at KDMP Konkola Deep Mining Project, there are a lot of other departments that they have been failing to maintain. An example is the concentrator and the open pit,” he said.
Kaluba said as long as KCM outsourced certain departments, the unions would be weakened because workers that would start working for contractors would do so on contract basis and that some of them would end up losing jobs since it would be the prerogative of contractors to take the workers on or not.
He urged KCM to make a decision if they had failed to run the mine, adding that there were a lot of people that could afford to run it.
And Kaluba said the government was also to blame for what was happening at KCM.
“For investors to have the audacity to outsource, they know that they have a grip from somewhere. Government is also a shareholder in KCM and if they are meeting and making these decisions, obviously they are aware. KCM can’t make such a decision minus government,” said Kaluba.
He said the government was not looking into the welfare of its own people and that they should realise that when people become contract workers, even their the government tax base would be affected.
“People who will be working for contractors will be getting mediocre salaries mostly below the tax threshold.”
Labels: GOODWELL KALUBA, KCM, LABOUR, NUMAW, RAHUL KHARKAR
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Kaluba urges Rupiah to stop using Chiluba as his campaign tool
By Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Sat 12 June 2010, 04:00 CAT
NATIONAL Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) secretary general Goodwell Kaluba has urged President Rupiah Banda to stop using presi Frederick Chiluba as his campaign tool because he is just adding more salt to people’s injuries.
And Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) secretary general Oswell Munyenyembe has described as unacceptable the ‘championing’ of the miners’ plight by Chiluba.
Commenting on Chiluba’s trips to mining townships and promises that he would assist miners buy houses at a cheaper price, Kaluba said President Banda must first check himself before sending Chiluba to campaign for him.
“RB is using a wrong person who will always be booed and jeered because this is the same man Chiluba who caused a lot of mess for miners,” Kaluba said. “Chiluba’s reputation is dented and his popularity has faded so using him to campaign is just adding salt to people’s injuries.”
Kaluba said Chiluba was president when the houses in Mukuba-Natwange Township in Kitwe were sold and even when Mukuba Pension Trustees fixed the prices, he never did anything about it.
He said the issue of houses in Mukuba-Natwange had been dragging for a long time and most people had been compelled to get loans in order to buy the houses in question.
Kaluba said he could not understand how Chiluba could today claim to assist the people of Mukuba-Natwange to buy houses at cheaper prices when he failed to do so when he was president.
Kaluba said Chiluba’s decision to entice the people of Mukuba-Natwange to vote for President Banda if he helps them buy houses cheaply amounted to politicking because President Banda as the country’s leader had a duty and obligation to ensure that citizens regardless of their political affiliation led decent lives. Kaluba likened Chiluba’s behaviour to that of Samson in the Bible.
“Today, he is behaving like Samson who lost the glory that God gave him but could not realize it. When did Chiluba learn about the state of toilets in Wusakile? He left them like that. A few toilets have been worked on but most of them are the same,” he said.
Kaluba urged miners to be careful and only entertain people that truly had their interests at heart.
And Munyenyembe said Chiluba today could not claim to champion miners’ rights because he ignored them when he was president.
Munyenyembe urged Chiluba to stop playing with miners’ minds because he would never sway them.
He explained that contrary to popular belief that Chiluba began the housing empowerment in the mining townships, MUZ suggested that houses be part of the miners’ benefits upon realisation that some investors did not have enough money to pay off all benefits that had accrued to miners that were either retrenched or retired after privatization.
“There was a collective agreement before privatisation between MUZ and ZCCM because investors did not have money to pay all accrued benefits. So to reduce the bill, MUZ suggested that houses be part of the benefits so it is not even right for Chiluba to claim that he started the sale of miners’ houses. The 1997 collective agreement between MUZ and ZCCM can give more details regarding the sale of miners’ houses,” Munyenyembe said.
He warned that if Chiluba did not stay away from miners’ issues, he would continue facing “lots of resistance.”
Munyenyembe urged miners to stay focused and not be swayed by Chiluba’s tactics.
Labels: CHILUBA, GOODWELL KALUBA, MMD, RUPIAH BANDA
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MMD, ex-miners ‘alliance’ will not work - Kaluba
By Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Mon 03 May 2010, 03:20 CAT
NATIONAL Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) national secretary Goodwell Kaluba has charged that the government has totally failed to address miners’ concerns.
And Kaluba has observed that the ‘alliance’ between the MMD and some ex-miners will not yield anything. In an interview, Kaluba complained that the miners’ concerns had fallen on deaf ears despite the many meetings held with the government.
He said issues such as engagement of expatriates at the expense of Zambians had been a major concern to the union for a long time now.
“We as a union are very disappointed with government because they have totally failed to address the concerns of our members,” he said.
“There are a lot of things happening in the mining industry. Just recently in Lumwana, there was an overhaul and people came in from South Africa to work on that. Surely, did all the jobs happening there require the services of expatriates from as far as South Africa?”
Kaluba said mining firms like Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) had an influx of Indians working on jobs that could be done by the locals.
“A lubricator, are you telling me this country cannot afford to produce a lubricator? Some of those people have even come to learn these jobs from Zambians. During negotiations when we raise these issues, companies give a lot of excuses but how does government give these people permits when they know that we have a lot of qualified Zambians who are just roaming the streets?”
Kaluba wondered. “Yes, we know that these investors have bought the mining companies but the rules of the land must be respected.
Zambians should be a priority when they are employing. Of course there are certain jobs that need expatriates but we can’t have foreigners working as artisans. It is very disappointing. We don’t know where we are going with this government.”
Kaluba implored the government to change its attitude, saying unions looked forward to seeing more Zambians in employment.
And Kaluba said the ‘alliance’ between the MMD and the ex-miners would not succeed because it involved former president Frederick Chiluba who had failed the miners when he was president.
He said some miners that were laid off in the Chiluba era died without ever getting their monies from the so-called trust fund. Kaluba described as a joke Chiluba’s promises to help the ex-miners.
“If Chiluba turns around today and says that he will help the ex-miners, that is just a joke. It is just politicking. I would like to tell those ex-miners that it won’t go anywhere,” observed Kaluba.
Last Thursday, Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) secretary general Oswell Munyenyembe said he did not see how miners would support the MMD in 2011 if the government continued ignoring their plight.
Munyenyembe also complained that the engagement of expatriates at the expense of Zambians was one such concern that had not been addressed.
Munyenyembe also accused the MMD of sponsoring some elements to challenge him and MUZ president Rayford Mbulu at the just-ended MUZ elections.
Labels: GOODWELL KALUBA, MMD, NEOLIBERALISM, TRADE UNIONS, UNIONS
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