The Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDMWU) is outraged by the treatment of workers at South Mining (Private) Limited following a viral video that showed an employee cleaning a toilet without appropriate protective equipment.
In a letter addressed to South Mining’s Human Resources Manager, M. K. Mutunja, dated October 7, ZDMWU Secretary General Justice Chinhema said the “blatant disregard for workers’ safety and their well-being” has to stop. He wrote:
It has come to our attention that your management has been constantly failing to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to workers, forcing them to work in hazardous conditions.
This egregious abuse of workers’ rights will no longer be tolerated. We demand immediate action to address this critical issue.
Chinhema called on South Mining to immediately provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for all workers, including general hand workers, and to implement regular inspections to ensure compliance with safety regulations.
The ZDMWU also demanded that the company conduct training on the proper use and maintenance of PPE and take disciplinary action against supervisors and managers responsible for neglecting safety protocols.
In the letter, Chinhema warned South Mining that failure to meet ZDMWU’s demands within seven days would lead to the matter being referred to the relevant regulatory authorities and the filing of a formal complaint with labour authorities.
ZDMWU also threatened to organise protests and demonstrations against the company’s management and consider industrial action, including a potential strike. Added Chinhema:
Occupational health and safety of workers should be priority of your management not profit, cases of unsafe working environment has been reported by workers at your mine with so many accidents happening unreported due to lack of safety standards.
The labour requires your management to take appropriate actions that promote health and safety of workers because they have a rights to safe work and fair labour standards not what we have seen on social media.
We seek to so your management addressing and build a work environment that promote, protect and observe workers ‘rights, job security, safety and health.
South Mining is a prominent coke-producing company which operates primarily out of Hwange, with its head office located in Harare.
The company runs three coke oven batteries with a total production capacity of 250,000 tons of coke annually.
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