Chibuluma ops grounded

OPERATIONS at Chibuluma Mine on the Copperbelt yesterday came to a complete halt after about 600 miners’ downed tools over alleged management refusal to award them a decent pay-rise and favourable working conditions.

The irate miners who began their work boycott as early as 06:00 hours demanded for the immediate removal of their general manager Jan Trow whom they accused of being insensitive to their plight.

A Times crew that went to Chibuluma around 10:00 hours found scores of the protesting miners seated inside the mine premises as they awaited to be addressed by management.

Outside the plant, a number of contractors doing business with Chibuluma were seen stranded outside the entrance to the plant where casual workers who had been evicted from the plant by full time employees were also found loitering.

Reporters from various media houses were barred access into the plant by security personnel who said they were under instruction from management not to allow members of the press to gain entry into the plant.

Only casual workers and those working for other contracting firms were seen leaving the plant as security personnel stayed glued to the instruction not to allow the press or any other employee entry into the plant.

By press time, management and Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) branch union leaders could not be accessed for comment as they were said to be engaged a meeting.

But some employees talked to who sought anonymity said the protest was sparked by management because of their reluctance to be flexible in awarding the miners a decent pay-rise.

“Management is saying they can only give us 14 per cent salary increment if we accept to work eight and half hours which we have refused because that is not in the labour laws.

“And because we have refused that they have pegged the salary increment on five per cent,” the grieved workers said.

They were also demanding for shift differential allowance for workers working in day-shift, which they said management was currently giving only to miners working in night and afternoon shift.

“We feel the one responsible for our suffering is the general manager and so we are not going to allow the salary negotiations to continue until he goes,” they said.

Effort to get the MUZ national leadership failed by press time as the general secretary Nkole Chishimba’s mobile phone was noted switched off while for his acting president Charles Mukuka went unanswered.