Zambia Sugar's defiance on fired workers angers Mazabuka PF
By Henry Chibulu in Mazabuka
Sat 10 Mar. 2012, 12:57 CAT
THE Patriotic Front in Mazabuka district is not happy with
Zambia Sugar management for refusing to heed labour deputy minister Rayford Mbulu's directive to immediately reinstate the dismissed general workers.And Mazabuka member of parliament Garry Nkombo says Zambia Sugar management should not use legality to punish the fired employees because management also erred. Nkombo said the company should reinstate the workers unconditionally in order to promote industrial harmony.
Last week, Mbulu gave company management a 24-hour ultimatum to reinstate the casual workers who were protesting against a decision to reduce daily rate from K63,773 to K31,773.
But Patriotic Front district chairperson Gift Hanziba said the stubbornness of the company management was regrettable and would not be entertained by the ruling party.
Hanziba said the company management should be courageous and accept that it made a mistake instead of being defensive on violation of workers' rights.
He complained that the affected casual workers had been warned not to step foot at the company offices by director of human resources, Doreen Kabunda, despite the government ordering her to ensure they reported back to work.
"We wonder who Zambia Sugar Company is going to listen to since the directive by government has been rejected by management. What the company management should appreciate is that you do not antagonise yourselves with government because it's a key stakeholder as far as policy issues are concerned. In fact, most companies respect government directives because it is only sad that Zambia Sugar does not want to abide by the directives," he said.
Hanziba urged the Ministry of Labour to take necessary action against the company for refusing to respect government directives.
Zambia Sugar Corporate Affairs director Lovemore Sievu refused to comment on the matter.
Labels: GARRY NKOMBO, LABOUR, RAYFORD MBULU, ZAMBIA SUGAR COMPANY
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Mbulu calls on mine investors to create employment for youths
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Mon 20 Feb. 2012, 11:59 CAT
FOREIGN investors in the mining sector must help the government in creating jobs for many unemployed youths, says PF Kalulushi member of parliament Rayford Mbulu. In an interview in Kitwe, Mbulu who is also deputy minister in the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development, said one of the major challenges facing many towns on the Copperbelt such as Kalulushi was youth unemployment.
He said the government was putting up a mechanism of utilising the local industry to create much-needed job opportunities for many young people who were looking up to government to create both formal and informal employment opportunities.
He said mining towns such as Kalulushi were housing very critical economic activities such as the Multi-Facility Economic Zones and many companies that would be put up in towns like Chambishi should translate into tangible job opportunities for people.
"We have mines and the economic zones and we hope that as we move forward as a people with this development agenda, the jobs and opportunities of empowerment our people have been looking for would become a reality. The jobs that can be done by our people with skills must be given priority," Mbulu said.
He said he had asked all the councillors in the 22 wards of Kalulushi to submit names of those not in unemployment in his constituency, especially youths and women, so that they could be incorporated in various mining and business houses.
Mbulu said he was confident that poverty would be significantly reduced in the country if all stakeholders work with government to create employment opportunities for many people on the streets without employment.
"In Kalulushi district we have industries like the Zambia Clay Industry, explosives are manufactured from there and we also have serious mining operations. We want to make sure that priority is given to the locals the way it is done in the North Western Province. We must ensure that as many as possible are employed in our local community by the companies that are operating there," he said.
Mbulu said women were also a special group that needed empowerment and it was gratifying that the government had attached seriousness to the programme of women empowerment to reduce poverty at household level.
Labels: JOBS, PF, RAYFORD MBULU, YOUTHS
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Government to resurrect KK’s Zambianisation programme
TIME PUBLISHED - Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 4:22 pm
The government has resurrected Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s 1971 Zambianisation program that aims to put locals in management positions. The Zambianisation Committee is lead by Deputy Minister of Labour Rayford Mbulu, who this morning visited Airtel, the biggest telecommunications company in the country, to inquire on the number of expatriates it has employed.
Mr Mbulu told the Airtel Managing Director Fayaz King that the Patriotic Front Government wanted to see Zambians in “decent employment” adding that it was going to focus on citizen’s empowerment and was not going to accept cheap expatriate labour.
“We are only going to accept expatriates with very rare skills that cannot be locally obtained,” Mr. Mbulu said. “Even then, they should be understudies to transfer those rare skills to locals so that those people can quickly handover to locals. That skills transfer will build capacity and will make Zambians excel.”
He then asked Airtel to submit how many employees it had, what skills existed at the company that were not locally possessed, the number of expatriates and the expected length of stay and at what point they were going to hand over theirpositions to Zambians.
In response, King disclosed that Airtel currently employed 393 locals with just four expatriate managers.
Mr King said Zambia was among the top four important investments in Africa which called for the best skills locally and across the continent.
He said it was the policy of Airtel to let its African operations run by Africans but not necessarily Zambians.
Mr King disclosed that a couple of Zambians were working in other parts of Africa and that it was important that the country also accepted staff from those countries.
He also disclosed that the biggest challenge the telecom had was staff retention as rival companies tended to poach skilled labour after the company trained them and sent them abroad for work experience.
“When our staff comes back from training or from working in our international operations, they attract a premium and the opposition gets them,” he said. “We are trying to fill all availablepositions with locals, that is in line with our policies. Our brand is unique and requires a lot of training, they are no short cuts. Unfortunately, after that training, we begin to compete with the international job market. In some instances, where you pay an engineer US$3000, they are offered US$12, 000 which makes it difficult to retain them.”
Labels: KENNETH KAUNDA, RAYFORD MBULU, ZAMBIANISATION
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Miners accuse government of imposing Mukuka as union leader
By Mwila Chansa-Ntambi
Mon 04 July 2011, 03:58 CAT
THE government allegedly wants to weaken the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) by imposing Charles Mukuka who is perceived to be a ruling MMD sympathiser as the union’s president.
And councillors at the MUZ supreme council meeting held at Katilungu House in Kitwe on Wednesday demanded that the election of the president be put on the agenda before they could proceed with the meeting.
Meanwhile, Mukuka, who is MUZ acting president, has observed that the exit of former MUZ president Rayford Mbulu had the potential to tear the union apart if people did not exhibit unity of purpose and selflessness.
Well-placed sources within the union told The Post that the government had hijacked MUZ elections and was working at ensuring that acting president Mukuka remains at the union’s helm.
“The thing is that after government hounded out Rayford from MUZ, the supreme council was supposed to elect a new president. The current general secretary Oswell Munyenyembe wanted to stand as president and he was favourite to win but Mukuka pulled a fast one on him,” the source said.
“We are aware that before this supreme council, the deputy general secretary and Mr Mukuka went to Lusaka and pushed that there should be no elections today so even as we were coming, we knew that there would be no elections.”
Another source disclosed that government officials allegedly threatened Munyenyembe that should he go ahead and stand as president, he would be hounded out of MUZ in the same manner that Mbulu was removed.
And during the official opening of the supreme council, councillors unanimously agreed that the election of the president be put on the agenda before the meeting could proceed.
When Munyenyembe called for the adoption of the agenda, a branch official observed that the election of the president was not appearing on the agenda.
“It will appear under number four, we received some correspondence from government,” Munyenyembe said.
But another branch official questioned why the item in question was not appearing when councillors had agreed during the central executive committee meeting that it would appear.
“…I hear you chairman and I agree with your views in totality but the council is at liberty to look at this issue. Let us leave it under correspondence,” he said.
It was not until Munyenyembe squeezed the item in question on the agenda that the councillors agreed to proceed with the meeting.
And in a speech, Mukuka said Mbulu’s exit from MUZ was one of the most unsettling situations ever experienced in organised labour in the mining industry.
“Let me hasten to say that the exit of Mr Mbulu continues to be a very serious challenge with the full potential to tear the union apart if we exhibit lack of unity of purpose, selflessness, focus and indeed tolerance,” Mukuka said.
He also said MUZ had not resolved to back any political party and that, therefore, no MUZ leader had the right to sway the union to their desired direction.
“But we shall continue to work with the government of the day, not the party of the day,” said Mukuka.
Meanwhile, the sources disclosed that the Labour Commissioner wrote to the MUZ council telling them that the elections would not be held due to ‘unforeseen’ circumstances.
Councillors resolved to write to the Labour Commissioner, asking him to state when the elections would be held.
The sources said it was the councillors’ general feeling that MUZ was going down because of government interference.
“Most councillors questioned why MUZ should be run from Lusaka. One of the councillors even said that government should know that miners had already made up their minds on who they are going to vote for,” said the sources.
Labels: MUZ, RAYFORD MBULU
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Rupiah will suffer massive defeat on C/belt - Mbulu
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Tue 31 May 2011, 03:40 CAT
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda will suffer massive defeat on the Copperbelt because development has been elusive, says Rayford Mbulu.
In an interview yesterday, Mbulu, the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) immediate past president, said the people of the Copperbelt were annoyed with the MMD because they had not seen the benefits of foreign investment in the mines.
Mbulu said it was surprising that President Banda was busy announcing that the Copperbelt was developing following huge investment in the mining sector when in fact the people’s living standards had continued to deteriorate.
“The people on the Copperbelt have seen meaningful development before and they’ve also experienced terrible situations under MMD. Many people understand what development means and their decision to change government will not be swayed by mere political rhetoric,” Mbulu said.
He said the much-talked about road rehabilitation exercise in urban areas did not qualify to be called development because it was just last-minute appeasement by the MMD.
Mbulu said President Banda’s claims that the country had immensely benefited from the mining sector were distressing in that unemployment levels had risen and the government had refused to re-introduce the windfall tax.
He said the country had reached a point where it needed a pragmatic leader to take over government power.
He said the governance system would completely collapse if the MMD were given another term.
“Change of government is inevitable this year. Zambia is not a monarch were the MMD should be in government forever, no! It’s a democracy.
“They have been in power for 20 years and they have proved to the nation that their governance style is corrupt and cannot be trusted,” he said.
Mbulu said due to lack of firm and visionary leaders, the country had seen mineral resources being taken away without economic benefits in return.
He said the government was responsible for the failure by foreign mining investors to give the nation real corporate social responsibility.
Mbulu said the country needed leaders that would reintroduce the much needed windfall tax and ensure that there was human capital development in the mining sector.
Mbulu said mine workers deserved better salaries and conditions of service than they were receiving because the investors were realising huge dividends from the mines.
Labels: MMD, RAYFORD MBULU, RUPIAH BANDA
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Mbulu backs Sata, eyes Kalulushi seat
By Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Tue 10 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
MINEWORKERS Union of Zambia (MUZ) immediate past president Rayford Mbulu says Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata’s leadership can foster change in the country. And Mbulu, who has since applied to contest the Kalulushi parliamentary seat on the PF ticket, says the labour movement needs transformation.
In an interview yesterday, Mbulu said that as someone who had worked amongst the people, he believed that he had a lot to offer to the country especially if he worked in conjunction with progressive people.
“I am no longer MUZ president; I am just an ordinary citizen and given an opportunity to participate in the governance process, I believe I can add value to this our country,” Mbulu said.
“I still believe I was prematurely terminated from the position of MUZ president but I can’t just go into oblivion like that, I believe I still possess some leadership qualities which if I use with progressive people can take our country to another level.”
He observed that intolerance had become a vice in Zambia’s political dispensation and that this was against democratic ideals.
He said it was sad that the current government viewed people that did not ‘dance to their tunes’ or had divergent views as enemies.
Mbulu said Zambia was for everyone and that no single person had title to it. Mbulu added that the termination of his contract was orchestrated by the government under suspicious circumstances in an effort to block him from contesting the ZCTU presidency.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the mine workers for their support during my tenure. The mine workers were with me all the way and I would also like to thank all the workers of this country for their support because I had almost 100 per cent support when I was about to contest the ZCTU presidency but my support was blocked by the powers that be,” he said.
Mbulu explained that when he intended to contest the ZCTU presidency, he wanted to make the labour movement more viable, relevant and acceptable to the workers.
And Mbulu observed that the labour movement needed the kind of transformation that promoted solidarity whereby an injury to one should be an injury to all.
He hoped those still in the labour movement would continue spearheading the interests of the workers because the labour movement was supposed to be an independent institution that stood on its own without any bias or compromise.
He said if the pre-independence labour movement had leaders such as the ones in the current one, Zambia would not have had attained independence.
Mbulu said labour leaders needed to put their heads together and ensure that investment trickled down to the masses. Mbulu added that Zambia is a rich country that had been extremely mismanaged.
Labels: ABEL MUZOREWA, LABOUR, MICHAEL SATA, RAYFORD MBULU
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Mbulu seeks to make peace with Liato
By Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Sun 09 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
MINEWORKERS Union of Zambia president Rayford Mbulu has called for a ‘ceasefire’ between himself and labour minister Austin Liato.
During a press briefing at Katilungu House in Kitwe on Thursday afternoon, Mbulu said both he and Liato were stakeholders in the country’s socio-economic development and it did not augur well for the acrimony between them to continue.
“I do not want the acrimony between myself and the honourable minister of labour to perpetuate. I think in life, there comes a time when you have to put a stop to certain things and I think this acrimony needs to be brought to a complete halt,” Mbulu said.
“The minister has his role to play in regulating labour matters and I also have my role to play in ensuring that workers are properly represented and I think we can’t do this in an acrimonious environment. This intransigence is uncalled for, we need to ceasefire immediately.”
Mbulu apologized to Liato for the words he used against him in The Post edition of January 1 this year.
On December 31 last year, Mbulu said it was stupid for Liato to step up the fight against him Mbulu and MUZ.
He said it was nonsensical for Liato to put up schemes to silence him and the union on issues that affected the labour movement.
Mbulu’s comments came in the wake of Liato’s call for him to step down as MUZ president now that he was unemployed.
The government allegedly influenced Chambishi Metals Plc to terminate Mbulu’s employment ahead of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) quadrennial conference so that he does not have a constituency to back his decision to contest the labour mother body’s presidency.
And MUZ Nchanga branch officials stated that Mbulu’s tenure as president would only come to an end in 2014.
The officials stated that Mbulu was given a mandate to run the affairs of the union at their 12th quadrennial conference.
“The only bodies that can dictate the removal of his mandate are the supreme council and MUZ quadrennial conference,” the officials stated.
They stated that it was shameful that ZCTU had remained mute when Mbulu’s contract had been terminated.
Labels: AUSTIN LIATO, MUZ, RAYFORD MBULU
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Zambia’s future bleak, observes MUZ chief
By Misheck Wangwe
Sun 28 Nov. 2010, 04:00 CAT
MINEWORKERS Union of Zambia (MUZ) says the country's future looks bleak because the MMD government has continued to discard progressive laws.
In an interview, MUZ president Rayford Mbulu said it was disheartening that the government under President Rupiah Banda had continued to tamper with critical laws that could enhance development and good governance.
Mbulu said it would be ultimate betrayal for President Banda to assent to the revised ACC Act because selfish parliamentarians had made it ineffective by removing the abuse of office clause.
“It is regrettable that government wants to encourage outright theft. The ruling MMD wants to hold on to power by making weird decisions and killing progressive laws. There is no justification why they pushed for the removal of the abuse of office clause,” Mbulu said.
He said it was clear that there was rampant corruption in the country and once the new ACC Act comes into force, many sectors would collapse. Mbulu said it was also clear to the mineworkers union that the government had not prioritised the fight against corruption.
He said it was sad that some trade unionists were supporting the removal of the abuse of office clause from the ACC Act.
“This shows how corrupt we have become as a nation. We need to fight this vice because if we don’t the country would collapse. We have integrity to protect as a people and the abuse of office clause is a deterrent of corruption and should be reinstated in the ACC Act,” Mbulu said.
He said the labour movement was expected to fight archaic laws such as the minimum wage and not the progressive laws.
He said the government’s failure to reintroduce windfall tax for the mining sector was an indication of lack of seriousness and commitment to national development.
Mbulu said the national budget was always in deficit because the government was fighting its own progressive laws such as the windfall tax that could increase revenue to the treasury.
He said it was not possible for mineworkers in the country to trust the government because it lacked seriousness on matters of development and good governance.
Mbulu said the mineworkers union had joined calls for the enactment of the fifty per cent plus one clause for the winning presidential candidate before next year’s elections because it would enhance democracy.
Mbulu said the wishes of the people who spoke through the Mung’omba draft constitution must be respected.
Labels: ACC, MUZ, RAYFORD MBULU
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COMMENT - What is the title of 'the book'?
Zambians have benefited little from copper - FES
By Darious Kapembwa in Kitwe
Fri 26 Nov. 2010, 04:00 CAT
FES resident director Heiner Naumann has said making the constitution is not democratic enough if there are no people to defend and protect its democratic provisions.
And Naumann has said Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) is working with unions and the civil society in the belief that these organisations are pillars of Zambia’s democracy.
Speaking in Kitwe on Tuesday during a book launch by the Mineworkers Union of Zambia on the Zambian mining industry that was supported by FES, Naumann observed that making a constitution was not democracy in the absence of someone to defend it.
“Democracy is only strong through the people and by the people not just by writing a constitution. If nobody is defending its democratic provisions, then it’s hollow.
That is why FES supports unions and also partners with civil society organisations like the CSPR, we do this in the belief that all these organisations are pillars of Zambia’s democracy,” Naumann said.
He said very little had been achieved from Zambia’s copper in form of economic and social benefits by the Zambian people.
"A lot has been published on Zambia’s mining boom but very little has been done in terms of social protection for workers and the general economic outlook of the country and the situation in the mining industry currently is that mine owners look at labour as a cost factor when in fact it is a major component in production," Naumann said.
"And it is sad to note that management functions in the mining industry are being transferred from producing countries to the headquarters or the country of origin for particular mine owners."
Naumann said issues of safety, health, social and job security in the industry had to be critically analysed and that labour leaders needed to do more research in order to present sound arguments.
"Our organisation will continue to support research of that nature by independent bodies as solidarity is more than justice," said Naumann.
And MUZ president Rayford Mbulu said critics who thought MUZ argued without proof had been shamed by the volume of information which research director Charles Muchimba had gathered in the book.
Mbulu said there had been a void between 2000 and 2010 which had been filled by the new book.
And Copperbelt University lecturer Davidson Chilipamushi who reviewed the book said it was a bankable reference to both the academia and stakeholders in the sector.
Labels: CHARLES MUCHIMBA, DAVIDSON CHILIPAMUSHI, FRIEDRICH EBERT STIFTUNG, HEINER NAUMANN, RAYFORD MBULU
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Chinese investors are above the law - Sata
By Sandra Lombe in Livingstone and Patson Chilemba in Lusaka
Sun 17 Oct. 2010, 04:40 CAT
MINEWORKERS unions have strongly condemned the shooting of 11 Collum Coal Mine workers in Sinazongwe by Chinese managers after they allegedly protested over bad conditions of service. And chief Sinazongwe has warned that the shooting of the workers in his chiefdom marked the beginning of war between the Chinese and the local community.
Meanwhile,
PF leader Michael Sata has charged that the shooting incident had revealed that Chinese investors were now above the law. Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Rayford Mbulu and National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) national secretary Godwell Kaluba in separate interviews said
it was unacceptable that investors could resort to shooting workers that were demanding what was rightfully due to them.
Two of the victims who were seriously wounded, Vincent Chengele 20, and Simon Simwete 28, have since been evacuated to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka.
“I have dispatched the general treasurer and director of occupational safety and health. They should be in Sinazongwe tomorrow (yesterday) to get information on the ground. In a mine we can’t allow the carrying of firearms, we can’t allow the Chinese to do that. The police should investigate and bring to book the suspects. We don’t care what investments people bring in the country. They should have sought dialogue with the workers or the unions. This is regrettable. What if a life was lost?” Mbulu asked.
“We can’t allow people to do anything they want because they have brought ‘funny money’ in this country. They can take it elsewhere. They must be arrested immediately.”
Mbulu said MUZ was dealing with a similar case three years ago where Chinese investors used a firearm on miners in Chambeshi. He expressed regret that the case was up to now still being investigated.
“Workers should be protected in this country. We want to be informed that these suspects have been brought to book. They should leave our country,” Mbulu charged.
He said there were many investors that wanted to invest in the country but Zambians should never allow such behaviour from foreign investors.
And Kaluba said there was growing concern over some Chinese investors who had exhibited violence towards staff at their mines.
“There are some bad eggs. It’s very unfortunate, it’s extremely unacceptable. When people are crying for better conditions of service, it means there is a problem. It’s either management doesn’t want to listen, negotiate or dialogue. The shooting is extremely unacceptable. In some cases we have had the Chinese slapping or beating up Zambian workers,” he said.
“This is unacceptable, that is why some people say the Chinese are bad.” Southern Province commanding officer Lemmy Kajoba referred queries to public relations office, as the matter was now being handled by Police Service Headquarters.
Police spokesperson Ndandula Siamana said she was not yet at the office by press time. However, chief Sinazongwe has expressed anger and strongly condemned the Chinese managers for shooting at the workers. He said firearms should never have been used.
“The issue was very simple, they (workers) were asking; ‘why no increment for two months’. The other thing could have been communication was not good, the workers were using English and the Chinese were using Chinese. Two guns were used,” he narrated.
“They shouldn’t have used the firearms. That’s very bad. We know they bring development but they shouldn’t shoot and use violence on the workers. This is the beginning of war between the locals and the Chinese. We need to harmonize the situation if no death occurs. If there is a death, this war will never finish unless we step in as traditional leaders.”
And narrating events that followed, chief Sinazongwe said the residents in the area were angered after they heard about the shooting and that the Chinese managers had run away.
“The people went to hunt for them. Police came with tear gas and many people were tear gassed,” he said.
“The two that were seriously injured in the chest by this time have been taken to Lusaka (UTH). For the others (nine) here, we don’t know when the bullets (pellets) will be removed.” UTH public relations manager Pauline Mbangweta could not give details of the two referred to UTH.
“I am told they are at UTH.
I am here trying to check, I will give you details later,” Mbangweta said. Meanwhile, Sata has charged that the Chinese investors were now above the law. Commenting on the shooting of the eleven workers, Sata said it was only in Zambia where a foreigner could shoot so many Zambians and get away with it. “You see the Chinese are above the law.
It is only in Zambia where a foreigner can shoot so many Zambians and get away with it, and the police are only making slogans that ‘we are going to investigate’. They are behaving the same way they behaved on Chitambo MMD member of parliament Dr Solomon Musonda who shot a PF cadre” he said.
Sata said the Chinese were supposed to be in custody pending investigations because the evidence was already there that they shot people. “That’s the evidence. What more do they want? Why did they let people who were shot taken to the hospital and leave the Chinese? Are the Chinese above the law?” he asked. Sata said the slowness by the government and the police to react to the shooting showed that the country lacked leadership.
“If we had leadership, what is happening would not happen because I can’t see any investor in the People’s Republic of China shooting any Chinese and getting away with it,” Sata said. He said the opposition should put aside their differences and speak strongly in unison against the incident.
Sata said the PF would demonstrate to the country how patriotic they were as the party would stand by the victims of the shooting.
“We know we can’t be protected by this government because it has been heavily corrupted by the Chinese for the 2011 elections and the current by-elections,” said Sata.
An eyewitness on Friday told The Post that the Chinese employers shot the victims in the neck, mouth, head, shoulder, chest and other parts of their bodies. When contacted for a comment, mines minister Maxwell Mwale said he was awaiting a full report on the matter.
Labels: CHIEF SINAZONGWE, CHINESE, CHINESE COLLUM COAL MINE, GODWELL KALUBA, MAXWELL MWALE, MICHAEL SATA, MURDER, RAYFORD MBULU
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MUZ, NUMAW accuse govt of backing splinter mine workers union
By Darious Kapembwa and Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Sun 12 Sep. 2010, 03:59 CAT
MINE Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) have disclosed that a splinter union has been formed in North Western Province with government backing.
During a joint press briefing organized by MUZ and NUMAW at Katilungu House in Kitwe on Friday, a government minister is reportedly chairing meetings for the new union.
According to MUZ president Rayford Mbulu, the new union named Consolidated Miners and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CMAWUZ) had written to President Banda assuring him of their support during the 2011 tripartite elections if the government assisted it with K2.9 billion for operational purposes.
Mbulu said MUZ was not a ‘sweetheart’ union and would continue fighting for the needs of miners and workers at large.
He urged fellow miners to reject people that were trying to sow seeds of
discontent in the mining industry, adding that there was no way a genuine union would form an alliance with the government upon formation.
Mbulu said the two main mining unions – MUZ and NUMAW – had successfully fought against outsourcing at Konkola Copper Mines and that there was need for practical solidarity amongst the labour movement in the country.
NUMAW president Mundia Sikufele said the new union has had three meetings with a senior minister in government where a lot of money had been promised to them.
And according to a confidential budget proposal dated April 26, 2010 and
addressed to President Banda, CMAWUZ interim president Thomas Mpashi expressed delight being accorded an opportunity to meet with the President despite his busy schedule.
“Sir, we are a new union to be registered in the mining and allied industries. Our objective, among others, is to work with your government in fostering national development unlike other unions who fail to address issues and only condemn the government of the day,” the letter read in part.
“Your Excellency, we are a union to stand in the gap to supplement your noble services to the community. We see the existing unions having assets but nothing benefits the community. Sir, if resources permit, we intend to construct schools, clinics and even colleges to benefit the general membership and the community as you may be aware there is no union in Zambia which has initiated such projects yet they have the resources and the power to even borrow.”
Labels: MUZ, NUMAW, RAYFORD MBULU, TRADE UNIONS
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Investors should address issues of health, safety – MUZ
By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Mon 22 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT
MINEWORKERS Union of Zambia (MUZ) has said there is need to compel investors to place emphasis on addressing issues of health and safety as compared to focusing on profits only. Opening the supreme council meeting, MUZ president Rayford Mbulu said too many lives in mine accidents were being lost.
“We have serious occupational health and safety concerns that need redress, we have lost too many lives in preventable mine accidents hence the need to compel our investors to put healthy and safety issues on the mines and casualisation as primary concerns and profits as secondary pursuit,” Mbulu said last week.
He challenged the government and other political leaders to regularly visit mine operations and communities to understand the challenges being faced in the sector.
“In line with promises made during elections, we expect our leaders to be accountable to the people and to consult the people on issues and their priority areas of development for good roads, good schools, good hospitals, clean and affordable water and other amenities,” Mbulu said.
He advised MUZ members to stand firm in solidarity to fight for the rights of workers in order to get a fair share of their toil and sweat.
The supreme council was held to review the previous year as well as appointing of a committee to plan for the hosting of the quadrennial conference that would usher in a new MUZ executive for 2010 to 2014.
Labels: MUZ, PUBLIC HEALTH, RAYFORD MBULU
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COMMENT - The 'incentive' of paying no tax is done so the mines can keep all of their profits. I don't see what is so difficult to understand about that. While exporting $5 billion a year, the mining sector is not there 'to create jobs'. It is there to capitalize other economic sectors. Allowing them not to pay taxes is a crime against the people and economy of Zambia. The so-called jobs in mining are nothing compared to the jobs that can be created in agriculture, let alone manufacturing.
Dr Musokotwane justifies incentives given to mines
By Fridah Zinyama
Fri 15 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT
FINANCE minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has justified the incentives given to the mining sector during the on-set of the global financial crisis, saying the action was necessary if the country's economy was to survive.
During the dissemination workshop yesterday on ‘The impact of the global financial crisis on Business and Employment in Zambia’, Dr Musokotwane said the government’s biggest concern during the on-set of the economic crisis was saving the mining sector because of the critical role that it played in the country’s economy.
“Our main concern was the impact that would have occurred in the country had the mining companies been allowed to close,” he said. “As it is, it has taken the new investor of the Luanshya Copper Mine one year to start production.”
Dr Musokotwane explained that the impact would have been much worse had government allowed the mining companies to close without any intervention as it would have taken longer for them to re-start production once new investors were found.
“Our intention was prevention rather than cure,” he said. “We are confident that with the action that government has taken more jobs will be created this year in the mining sector.”
Dr. Musokotwane said the sub-contractors to the mining sector were the worse hit by the financial crisis, as some companies had to be liquidated.
“The mining sector itself was affected but the ones indirectly affected were the contractors,” he said.
And International Labour Organisation (ILO) director Gerry Finnegan said about 52 million workers globally lost their jobs due to the impact of the global financial crisis.
Finnegan said the mining and tourism sectors were the worst hit by the financial crisis, which resulted in the many job losses experienced.
“In Zambia, instinctively, we knew that the crisis could not ignore Zambian workers,” he said. “Increasingly, in the last quarter of 2008 and in 2009, we were aware of workers losing their jobs particularly in mining and tourism.”
Meanwhile, Mine- Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Rayford Mbulu accused some mining companies of fulfilling their sinister intentions of retrenching employees’ by way of the opportunity which the global financial crisis created.
“What was surprising was that while others were busy retrenching their workers, other mining companies maintained their workforce when they were also facing the same challenges as the other companies,” he said.
Mbulu said the government also gave a lot of incentives to the mining sector to help them survive the crisis hence they should have exercised some lenience towards their employees.
And Zambia Federation of Employers president Dr George Chabwera said even though the country had recorded some positive macro economic trends, the country had not witnessed any growth in employment.
“We also continue to remain apprehensive of the effects of the crisis on job creation in the country. We remain apprehensive because we do not see any new jobs being created in future,” said Dr Chabwera.
Labels: CORRUPTION, GEORGE CHABWERA, GERRY FINNEGAN, LABOUR, RAYFORD MBULU, SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE, WINDFALL TAX
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Unions reject KCM’s 3% salary increment
By Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe
Fri 11 Dec. 2009, 04:01 CAT
MINEWORKERS Union of Zambia (MUZ) and National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) have rejected Konkola Copper Mines’ three per cent salary increment offer. The two unions have declared a dispute in the ongoing negotiations for improved conditions of service with KCM.
Briefing the press yesterday, MUZ president Rayford Mbulu expressed disappointment that the mining giant could offer such an infinitesimal increment when copper prices had risen to US $7,150 per tonne on the world market.
However, he appealed to mine workers to remain calm and allow the unions and KCM management to exhaust all the channels of the collective bargaining process as provided for by the law.
“From the manner we are proceeding; our negotiations with KCM are not giving us inspiration,” Mbulu said. “There’s extreme hopelessness. We are at three per cent offered by KCM and the unions are at 25 per cent. There is a difference of 22 per cent. Our position is that of extreme worry...in four meetings we are at three per cent and the company has said that’s the final position.”
He said he expected any normal company such as KCM which was recovering from recent industrial unrest relating to salary increments and concerns over other conditions of work to have made a better offer.
“We are not convinced that KCM can offer three per cent when copper prices have soared to US $7,150,” Mbulu said.
He said during the time of rock bottom copper prices when the global economic downturn caught the Zambian mining industry off its guard, the two unions had proposed to KCM a number of measures in which to enhance production and cut costs but that these were not heeded.
Mbulu said the unions had asked KCM to repair infrastructure and buy new equipment to improve production processes and also cut on the number of expatriate workers.
He said the 165 expatriates at KCM earning colossal sums of money were not adding any value to the company.
Mbulu said during the ZCCM days when the mining industry employed a total of 65,000 workers, there were less than 100 expatriates and wondered what the justification was for KCM, which was a fraction of the mining conglomerate, to have 165 foreign workers.
He said there was no need to have expatriates mainly of Asian origin to perform spokesperson, human resource, finance and metallurgical functions because there were many Zambians trained by local institutions who could work in those positions.
Mbulu criticised the government for letting down Zambians by allowing expatriates in positions that locals could occupy.
He questioned the criteria that the Ministry of Home Affairs used in issuing work permits to such expatriates.
Mbulu demanded a stop to the trend of employing expatriates when locals could perform the functions.
Labels: KCM, MUZ, NUMAW, RAYFORD MBULU, SALARIES, TRADE UNIONS
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Stripping of Kagem miner by guard is criminal – MUZ
By Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe
Sat 24 Oct. 2009, 04:00 CAT
MINEWORKERS Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Rayford Mbulu has said the stripping of a Kagem miner by a security guard is criminal.
In an interview yesterday after he met Kagem management on Thursday, Mbulu said MUZ demanded that the security guard identified as Gurung Yogendra be removed from plant operations because he was a danger to society.
"We met Kagem ... and for us as a union we made certain demands and one demand is that very stern disciplinary action should be taken against that Indian who searched our member mercilessly; an act which is totally contrary to company policy," Mbulu said.
"He actually took the law in his own hands. That is illegal in as far as we are concerned and no law in this country supports such kind of search. We know we've got our own policies, procedures and practices but there is no policy, there is no procedure, there is no practice in the mining industry that supports searching an individual to the extent of stripping them naked because this is inhuman; it's actually criminal, it's an act that requires absolute punishment. And we have even said the best Kagem management can do for now is actually sideline that gentleman ... that man has been taken away from the plant pending investigations and even after investigations we don't need him on the plant."
Mbulu said having such a security guard at the plant could precipitate a reaction from mine workers because they were human beings who had feelings.
He further challenged Kagem management not to only be quick in meting out disciplinary action when it involved unionised workers but slow to act when the tide was against them.
He said MUZ having carried out its investigations also established that Yogendra stripped Davison Mwila a miner at Kagem on suspicion that he may have stolen an emerald on October 8.
Mbulu also challenged the government to be proactive in conducting inspections at work places and dealing with such acts.
"Government must come in to regulate, see exactly the conditions under which the people are working," said Mbulu.
"These people are not only mine workers, these people are citizens of this republic, they deserve the protection of government and I believe we just watch the situation, let it be what it is I am telling you that at the end of the day Zambians will always be subjected to such kind of ill treatment."
Sources at Kagem last week indicated that stripping of workers was not new and that in some instances, security guards of Asian origin even inserted their fingers into private parts of miners they suspected to have stolen emeralds.
Kagem senior manager for corporate affairs Jonas Mwansa defended the stripping of Mwila and said it occurred during the normal course of duty.
He defended Yogendra that what prompted him to ask Mwila to take off his clothes was that he found that he wore two sets of underwear and that this made him become suspicious.
"This security man suspected he had stolen because he was wearing two things (underwear)," Mwansa said. "He was asked to take off one. The dress code is that he is not supposed to wear two things. People are searched as per normal procedure. In this particular instance he was wearing two pants."
Asked if security officials were allowed to insert their fingers in to employees' private part in the course of searching, Mwansa said he did not think that there were any such occurrences.
"It's just that yes, when people want to hide something, they can hide it anywhere," said Mwansa.
"You have to pampanta (search thoroughly) everywhere...all what has been done is according to the procedure that the security department have put in place. As you know emerald is not like copper. For copper there is no need for searching people because copper is heavy but for our business even a small thing is valuable.
Labels: KAGEM, LABOUR, MUZ, RAYFORD MBULU
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‘Involve traditional leaders, councils in securing land for ex-miners
Written by Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Friday, June 05, 2009 11:11:57 PM
MINE Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Rayford Mbulu has urged mining firms and the government to engage traditional leaders and councils in securing land for retrenched miners to pursue alternative livelihoods.
Officially opening the MUZ supreme council at Katilungu House in Kitwe yesterday, Mbulu noted that the prevailing economic situation may not guarantee immediate new jobs for those that had been retrenched and that this therefore entailed the need for former miners to be resettled and empowered with land.
He said empowering ex-miners with land could also assist them in accessing finances from institutions such as the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) to enable them become entrepreneurs.
And Mbulu urged political leaders to regularly visit mine operations and communities for them to appreciate the challenges miners were facing.
He lamented that miners were subjected to poverty, disease and squalor in addition to facing serious occupational health and safety problems.
"We have lost too many lives in mine accidents that we need to put our heads together to compel our investors to put health and safety issues on the mines, and casualisation as primary concerns and profits as a secondary pursuit," he said.
"In line with the promises that were made at the height of elections, we expect our leaders to be accountable to the people and to consult the people on issues and their priority areas of development for good roads, good schools, good hospitals, clean and affordable water, good sanitation and electricity."
Mbulu also called for unity among the MUZ membership saying there could only be one president at a time. He advised members to approach the union whenever they felt it had erred instead of subjecting it to great embarrassment through rumours and gossip.
"Opportunism can be a harzard. You can have zeal but zeal without knowledge can make you burn the whole village," observed Mbulu.
Labels: CEEC, JOBLOSSES, MINERS, MUZ, RAYFORD MBULU
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Unions welcome ZCCM-IH takeover of LCM
Written by Zumani Katasefa, Mwila Chansa and Mutuna Chanda
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 5:10:53 AM
MINE unions have welcomed the government’s decision to let ZCCM-IH to take over operations of Luanshya Copper Mine (LCM) and urged speedy implementation of the decision to safeguard property at the troubled mine.
In an interview yesterday, Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Rayford Mbulu said the government should translate the announcement concerning the taking over of LCM by Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holding (ZCCM-IH) into practical action.
“As a labour movement we fully welcome and support the action by ZCCM -IH to take over the shares at LCM that have been abandoned by the investor,” he said.
Mbulu said the only cry for the union and the general mine workforce in Luanshya was the timeframe in which that would be done.
“We are impressed with the efforts that government has put in, the mines minister Maxwell Mwale has always been here. But our only cry is the timeframe in which this could be done,” he said.
Mbulu added that it would be important if the pronouncement concerning the taking over of the mine by ZCCM-IH was quickly implemented to safeguard mine assets from being stripped off.
“We do not want to subject our workers to a lot of suffering, already many of them had their benefits held in the banks, so it is just important that quick action is taken,” Mbulu said.
National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) president Mundia Sikufele urged government to take time as it looks for an investor to take over the problematic Luanshya mine.
Sikufele said it was good that President Rupiah Banda had announced that LCM would be run by ZCCM-IH.
“It is a welcome move. And government should take its time in looking for an investor to take over the Luanshya mine. It should not rush in finding an investor. I know it would gobble a lot of money, but what is important is to protect the assets of the mine,” he said.
Some miners in Luanshya who spoke on condition of anonymity commended the government for the move.
“It is a good move, but that should not take too long if it takes long then a lot of assets at the mine would be destroyed,” they said.
And during the newsmakers’ forum organised by the Press Freedom Committee of The Post in Luanshya, Mbulu said the government only needed US $4 million to run LCM every month.
He said the unions had conducted a study, which revealed that the government needed US $48 million for one year to run LCM.
Mbulu said as long as miners at LCM remained out of employment, there was no guarantee that assets would be protected.
Sikufele said the unions had set aside their political differences to focus on saving jobs in Luanshya and ensuring that LCM got back on its feet.
And Roan Patriotic Front (PF) member of parliament Chishimba Kambwili vowed that a Chinese investor would only take over the operations of LCM over his ‘dead body’.
In apparent reference to President Banda’s recent statement that his only hope for the mines were Chinese and Indian investors, Kambwili said Chinese investors in Zambia paid their workers very little money and did not respect labour laws.
He said even labour minister Austin Liato himself was constantly called upon to solve labour-related problems at the Chinese-run Non-Ferrous Metals Corporation Africa (NFCA) in Chambishi because of the alleged ‘peanuts’ that the investors paid their employees.
“And there are more than 400 Chinese pushing wheelbarrows at NFCA; jobs that can be done by Zambians. Upon my dead body, I will not allow a Chinese to come and push wheelbarrows in Luanshya. What are the Chinese going to bring here?” Kambwili asked as some people in the audience were heard responding: “technology!”
But Kambwili warned that the people of Luanshya should not cry foul when what he was telling them comes to pass.
“You’re saying technology. Those people will bring in 300 of them to push wheelbarrows here and that means 300 of you will not have jobs but if ZCCM-IH takes over, at least all of you will be guaranteed of your jobs,” he said.
Kambwili threatened that he would take off his shirt and remain in his shorts to protest if a Chinese investor took over LCM.
He further said it was dangerous to allow the Chinese as the biggest consumers of copper on the world market to also become producers as this would make them a monopoly and allow copper to be sold at a very uncompetitive price.
“We can accept an Indian investor because we have seen what they have done at KCM and we have also tried them before although they disappointed us, but they used to pay decent salaries,” said Kambwili.
Kambwili said a Chinese investor should be the last option for resuscitating LCM, adding that: “Even when a rat says I cannot take over the mine, that’s when we can bring in a Chinese.”
And Liato doubted the capacity of Zambian investors to run a mine such as LCM when those with prospective licences for emeralds had failed to do any tangible mining.
Liato said there was need for people to accept when they had no capacity to do certain things.
“How many emerald mines are here on the Copperbelt and what is coming out of them?” he asked. “If we can’t run small holes, can we run big mines like this? “That is the question I ask myself because it’s easy to mislead people with emotional outbursts.”
Liato said the government was against loss of jobs and that was why President Banda had told investors not to take advantage of the global economic crunch to lay off workers.
He said there was no need to demonise the Chinese because they had the capacity to produce commodities for every market.
Liato said people needed to remember that the Chinese had been Zambia’s ‘all-weather friends’ and that they had built infrastructure that they would never take with them when they return to China.
“Even in the midst of these crises, the Chinese have promised to recruit 1,000 more jobs, so should we hate them?” he asked. “I need those jobs badly as minister of labour.”
He wondered why people wanted to call the Chinese names when none of the employees in the mines they were running had lost a job.
Liato said the problems in the mines did not start with either the late president Mwanawasa or President Banda but that it was some leaders who were now in the opposition that sold the mines for a ‘song’.
“Why do you become so easily divided?” Liato asked the audience. “You don’t seem to identify who your real enemies are,” Liato said.
Liato said the government was trying its best to save jobs and that: “When this nightmare is over, we will focus on creating jobs. I can assure you that the President is not sleeping.”
Labels: AUSTIN LIATO, CHINESE, LCM, MAXWELL MWALE, MUZ, NATIONALISATION, RAYFORD MBULU, ZCCM-IH
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PF MP against Chinese investor for LCM
January 26, 2009
Patriotic Front Roan Mp Chishimba Kambwili openly differed with Mineworkers Union of Zambia president Rayford Mbulu over courting Chinese investors for the troubled the Luanshya Copper Mine.
Speaking at the news forum of the Press freedom committee of the Post newspapers yesterday at Cholwa guest house, Kambwili said
he will not allow government to bring in Chinese investors to run the LCM because they do not respect labour laws.
Kabwili said the Chinese were in the habit of paying Zambian workers low wages and salaries adding that they even go to the extent of bringing labourers from their country thereby disadvantaging Zambians.
The area MP warned former miners against entertaining Chinese investors adding that they will be left in the cold.
But Miners Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Rayford Mbulu said there was nothing wrong with the Chinese investors as they have proved to helpful in building economies globally.
Mr. Mbulu said Chinese investors were good adding that the Union would welcome such an investor as long as miners jobs are secured.
He said he had been to China and saw how the Chinese entrepreneurs were paying their workers handsomely adding that the country needs to negotiate with investors for better conditions of services.
ZANIS/OM/MKM/ENDS
Labels: CHINESE, CHISHIMBA KAMBWILI, FDI, LABOUR, LCM, MUZ, RAYFORD MBULU
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MUZ calls for assessment of mines on Copperbelt
Written by Zumani Katasefa in Kitwe
Monday, January 26, 2009 5:22:53 AM
MINEWORKERS Union of Zambia (MUZ) president Rayford Mbulu has called for the establishment of a team of experts to carry out studies to establish whether the mining companies are running at a loss.
And Citizens For Better Environment (CBE) executive director Peter Sinkamba has said President Rupiah Banda's government lacks confidence in solving the problems that have rocked the country's mining sector.
But labour minister, Austin Liato, said it was not right to start blaming each other in the midst of the problems that have hit the mining sector.
During the newsmakers forum organised by the Press Freedom Committee (PFC) of The Post Newspaper to discuss job losses in the mining sector at Kitwe Little Theatre on Saturday, Mbulu said the government should seriously look at the problems facing the mining sector on the Copperbelt Province.
Mbulu proposed that the government should set up a team of experts that would look at the mines following the recent closures and also establish the liabilities and assets in these companies.
"At a point when one steps out, government must step in to end asset stripping in the mines. Not too long ago miners in Luanshya went into destitution. There would be a lot of crime if nothing urgent is done to ensure that the Luanshya Copper Mine starts operations," he said.
Mbulu said about 700 jobs risked being cut at Mopani Copper Mine (MCM) in Mufulira.
"The future for Mopani is not bright if the worst goes to the worst. Mopani would pull out from Mufulira and 700 jobs would be lost," he said.
Mbulu also said the banks in Lunshya had held on to the benefits of some miners who owed the financial institutions in terms of loans.
He said some miners in Luanshya got as little as K2 million as their terminal benefits and that this money had been held in the banks.
"Banks have held on to the miners’ benefits. Microfin is recovering everything, and Bayport is only recovering the principle amount," he said. "A lot of miners even failed to go home because their money was held in the banks. In Chambishi it is just the same. People walked away with nothing."
Mbulu added that it was unfortunate that Baluba Mine was left with 25 people to manage the care and maintenance programme.
"The concentrator was left with no human being, and it was the concentrator that flooded. The whole mine may flood," Mbulu said.
And Sinkamba said if the government had confidence it could have utilised about K1 billion from the money in its reserves to bail out some mining companies in the country such as Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM), which has since closed.
"If it is true that the K1.3 billion is still in the reserve we can easily recapitalise the Luanshya mine," Sinkamba said.
He said the country had enough financial and human resource that could be used to keep the mines afloat.
"The idea of waiting for foreigners to come and invest in our mines should come out of our minds," he said.
Sinkamba said the problems that had hit the mines on the Copperbelt Province needed urgent intervention from the government.
He also disclosed that the investors in the non-operational LCM, who have since pulled out, owed the government US$20 million in environmental liabilities.
"Job and care maintenance is nothing. Government should have secured the US$20 million as environmental liabilities. We do not seem to implement such laws. It will be an insult to learn that these people have disappeared and we do not know how much money has been secured to address the environmental liabilities," he said.
Sinkamba revealed that various mining companies operating in Zambia owed government about US$200 million in environmental liabilities and that it was difficult to understand how government would recover this money.
"During privatisation of the mines, these investors refused to take on board environmental liabilities so government inherited these liabilities," Sinkamba said.
But Liato said this was not time to apportion blame on one another in view of the crisis in the mines.
He said people should understand that the problems that had hit the mining sector were a result of the world economic recession.
Liato said everyone should be engaged in trying to find a solution to the problems that had rocked the country's mining sector.
"This is like an economic tsunami. The answer to this problem would not only come from government alone," he said.
Liato said the government would accept any investor who would express interest in investing in the mining sector as long as they met the requirements.
He said it was sad that some people were condemning the Chinese investors in Zambia and yet they had not effected any job cuts in their companies following the world economic crunch.
"In Chambishi, the Chinese would be employing about 1,000 people this January," he said.
Liato said the government would not tolerate any arrogance from investors because they were expected to respect the local workforce.
He also disclosed that this year the government would step up labour inspections to find out how many positions were held by expatriates in various companies.
Liato said the closure of the Nkana smelter by Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) was not as a result of the global financial crisis.
Liato also urged employers not to take advantage of the global credit crunch to lay off workers in the country.
Mines minister Maxwell Mwale last week disclosed to Parliament that 3,072 jobs had been lost in the country's mining sector on the Copperbelt Province.
Labels: CBE, MINING, MUZ, PETER SINKAMBA, RAYFORD MBULU
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Miners warn of resistance to close LCM
December 23, 2008
The Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MWUZ)and National Union of Miners and Allied Workers Union (NUMIAWU) have warned that any attempts to switch off equipment or attempts to close Luanshya Copper Mines operations would be met with maximum resistance.
The two unions have also urged its members to closely monitor operations and ensure that no materials or scrap metal leaves the premises of the company.
Addressing a joint press conference at Katilungu house today, MUZ President, Rayford Mbulu, appealed to government and the technical committee to ensure and guarantee continued Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) operations, employment and incomes, as this would lessen anxiety and fears by members so that peace prevailed in Luanshya.
Mr Mbulu also said the two unions have rejected the putting mine assets on ”care and maintenance”.
He suggested that the shutdown schedule as outlined on 19th December be revisited and advised that no letters should be issued to employees by LCM management util things are straight.
Mr Mbulu, who was flanked by NUMAWU president, Mundia Sikufele, appealed to all stakeholders to engage in a fast tracked process to create a vehicle for continued LCM operations.
He also reminded LCM management to honour in full their obligations to employees for rendered services by ensuring that the terminations were accompanied by terminal benefits as outlined in the collective agreement.
The MUZ president requested mine owners and shareholders, whose corporate and global interests outweigh the interests of the country, to offload their shares to government and hand back the mine assets to ZCCM-IH to protect domestic economy through continued operations to safeguard mine assets, job losses and asset stripping.
Labels: DEMONSTRATION, LCM, MINERS, MUZ, NUMAW, RAYFORD MBULU, RIOTS
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