Opposition politicians lambast the Lusaka government’s timidity after Chinese managers shoot Zambian mine workers

Mayhem broke out on 15 October at the Collum Coal Mine in southern Zambia after Chinese owners shot workers protesting over dangerous and difficult working conditions. The workers were demanding higher salaries and an explanation as to why they had not been paid for two months. The tense relations between Chinese managers and Zambian workers is a critical issue ahead of 2011 national elections.

Asian investments are an emotive issue in Zambia. Chinese mine managers have clashed with protesting workers several times before. India’s Vedanta Resources has also come under fire from civic groups for refusing to renegotiate its low royalty and tax obligations when world copper and cobalt prices soared.

Opposition leader Michael Sata accused Chinese companies of gross exploitation of Zambian workers at the last election, and delighted in goading Beijing’s ambassador to Lusaka into some very undiplomatic utterances. Within hours of the shooting, Sata sprung into action again, having earlier softened his rhetoric (AAC Vol 3 No 4).

Sata, a fiery populist who senses a strong campaign issue against incumbent President Rupiah Banda, claims the government is putting Chinese investors above the law. He said the slowness to react to the shooting showed that Zambia lacked leadership and favoured the Chinese: ‘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.’

Confronted by angry but unarmed trades unionists, the Chinese managers opened fire on 15 October with shotguns. At least 11 miners were injured. Witnesses say the language barrier made things worse because the Chinese managers’ grasp of English was poor. After protracted arguments, the managers fled and the Zambians gave chase. As confusion ensued, police arrived in full riot gear and tear-gassed bystanders. Two workers who were shot and seriously injured in the chest were evacuated to hospital, and one was discharged on 18 October. The Collum Mine management had said that operations would be restarted immediately and that the company would meet the workers’ demands.

The unions and the opposition will not let the matter lie. On 19 October, they marched on the Chinese embassy in Lusaka to demand a formal apology from Beijing for the shooting, but Zambian riot police barred their way. Banda’s timid response has angered many in Lusaka and the Copperbelt.

Dangerous jobs for low wages
Collum Mine workers have railed against bad working conditions, low pay and lax safety standards for years. The Chinese owners provide no medical facilities or social amenities. The lowest-paid worker gets US$31 a month, the highest receives just over $100 with a lunch allowance of 2,000 kwacha (45 cents) a day. They do not get days off and all have been working without contracts since the mines started up nine years ago. Such conditions are fairly typical in China’s hinterland despite the rising prosperity of the coastal regions. That is of scant consolation to Zambian trades unionists. Yet Zambian government officials avoid offending Beijing. Only Deputy Labour Minister Simon Kachimba condemned the shooting and warned that ‘no investor will abuse the people of Zambia and go scot-free’.

Workers have told Lusaka’s Mines Ministry about the unsafe conditions at the mine but it has taken no action. In October 2006, the government shut the mine for three days after a minister for the region, Alice Simango, wept on television and accused the management of treating workers like animals. The traditional leader of the local Tonga people, Chief Sinazongwe, warned of sabotage operations at the mine since people feel no one is willing to protect them. He called on government to gaol or deport the two Chinese nationals who have been arrested and charged with attempted murder.

The police have cordoned off the mine and calm has returned, but Sinazongwe warned that there will be trouble until the workers’ grievances are addressed: ‘This is the first time in the history of this land that foreigners have come and we have given them free land, but what do we get in return? They shoot us.’ The arrested Chinese nationals, Xiao Lishan (48) and Wu Jiuhua (46), were charged with attempted murder on 18 October. A similar incident occurred in 2007, when owners at another Chinese mine, NFC Africa, used a firearm on miners protesting at poor working conditions. China’s President Hu Jintao made a special visit to the area to apologise during a state visit.

Source: http://www.africa-asia-confidential.com