The General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU), Mr Justice Chinhema has said the union is shocked by RioZim’s decision to ban The World Day for Decent Work commemorations. In a statement sent to Pindula News, Chinhema said they had scheduled to commemorate the day this Friday at RioZim Cam & Motor Mine in Kadoma. Reads the statement:
ZDAMWU PRESS STATEMENT ON BAN OF THE WORLD DAY FOR DECENT WORK COMMEMORATIONS AT RIOZIM
The Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) notes with utter disbelief the disdain being displayed by RioZim management of its workers by banning commemorations of The World Day for Decent Work. We arranged to commemorate this day today 7 October 2022 at RioZim Cam & Motor Mine in Kadoma a mine owed by RioZim.
The choice of RioZim did not come as a coincidence. Following consultations with our members and other stakeholders, RioZim was ideal for hosting this year’s commemorations but the message is designed to remind all employers in the mining industry in Zimbabwe that Decent Work is a Right which we must all practice all the time.
We had made a deliberate choice to commemorate the Word Day for Decent Work at RioZim because our members there are facing a plethora of challenges across all its mines and the recent closure of Dalny mine and threatening to retrench all permanent workers at ENR we then felt these workers and their families requires solitary in their hard times. The challenges include late payment of salaries, poor working conditions, disregard of known workplace engagement platforms like the works council, poor safety and health standards, rampant casualisation of labour and the recent termination of employment contracts for all fixed-term contracts.
To add salt to injury the community of Chakari where they closed down the mine is currently in darkness because Zesa switched off the power.
There is no hope of continued employment of workers currently working for RioZim Mines namely Cam & Motor and Renco Mine. Families of these workers are now facing economic distress.
For two (2) years workers were made to understand that the Biox plant was going to be a game changer for everyone, months down after the commissioning of the Biox plant, things have remained the same.
Against this background, we want to make it very clear that ZDAMWU will not seat back when the survival of our members, their families and communities are under threat for economic survival. We are saying the mining industry is the backbone of this country and workers working in this precarious sector need to be protected.
The objective of this campaign is to address employers and workers on the need to promote decent work all the time.
We believe that-
- Every person on earth should be able to have a job that enables them to live a good life in which their basic needs are met.
- We believe that employment is a crucial factor for achieving this and after working every employee is entitled to a salary paid in full on time.
- The women, men, and young people who are working in the mining industry need employers that take adequate measures that:
- Ensure social protection and workers ‘rights are fully respected in labour laws and in practice.
- Living standards and economies need productive employment to develop.
- Create jobs for women and men that are linked to standards and rights as well as social protection that gives workers the security they need to face the future with confidence not the current situation mine workers face today which is causing some workers to fail to send their children to school or have a decent life of a worker.
We are fed up with the attitude and practices of some companies currently operating in Zimbabwe big and small. We want prioritization of safety and health, living wage linked to the PDL and value of minerals mined. We want to see mines that complement government policies on job creation and job security. We have taken a deliberate position that No more closures of mines under our watch. Any mine that fails to pay its workers on time, or that fails to operate in terms of the law to the extent of affecting communities that survive through them will be inviting corporate rescue which is meant to resurrect failing entities like Rio Zim.
In our view, we should not wait until another mine collapse and jobs are lost like what happened to SMM, Zisco Steal. Diligence requires that we act now.
I Thank You
J.CHINHEMA
GENERAL SECRETARY
0772976261 /0717803553