KCM miners riot By Speedwell Mupuchi in Chingola Wed 11 Nov.

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KCM miners riot
By Speedwell Mupuchi in Chingola
Wed 11 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT [172 Reads, 0 Comment(s)]


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MINERS at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Chingola yesterday rioted, disrupting operations at the giant copper mine.

However, police in riot gear have been deployed at the Nchanga Mine to keep the miners in check.
A union official, Chingola District commissioner Tobias Maliti and KCM corporate affairs manager Rahul Kharkar confirmed the disturbance at the mine yesterday that disrupted operations at the concentrator and Nchanga underground mine.

The irate miners picked stones but were restrained by security officers who were quickly deployed to control the situation and no property was damaged.

A miner found on site said the riot started at the concentrator where a miner mobilised his colleagues and together they proceeded to the shaft to wait for miners coming out of underground.

The source said miners who were changing shifts were ordered to join their colleagues.
He said the irate miners harassed three Indian employees on whose chests they stuck small placards demanding 100 per cent salary increment, and ordered them to raise their hands in sign of surrender and forced them to march towards their head office with the message.

The source said some of the miners gathered at the Tailings Leach Plant where they sat waiting for their colleagues to join them under the watchful eye of police officers.

A union official talked to said by press time, miners were still gathered at the shaft waiting for their colleagues who were underground so they could see them off.

"No workshop is operating at the moment, policemen are everywhere at the plant and the head office. The workers want 30 per cent salary increment. Actually there is only one item on the agenda; that is the 30 per cent salary increment," said the official who did not want to be named.

"We didn't want many items because we don't want negotiations to be prolonged, the negotiations should have been completed in July but we had an extended collective agreement up to September 31, 2009. So from October to date there is no collective agreement in place, that’s why the workers went amok.”

The unions and KCM management were due to have a meeting over the disturbances.
Kharkar said some workers did not work because of the disruption.

He said state police had been deployed and they were able to keep the situation under control.
He said the Nchanga underground and concentrator were affected by the disruption.
Kharkar promised to issue a comprehensive statement about the disruption.

And Maliti said KCM management was ready for the negotiations.
He said he was informed the miners wanted results of the negotiations last Friday while negotiations were supposed to have started yesterday.

“I think it’s the impatience of the miners, give chance to management and the union to negotiate,” Maliti pleaded with the miners.

“Put your differences aside and allow negotiations; negotiations cannot go on under duress, there is power in dialogue, give dialogue a chance and return to work.”

And KCM security officers blocked Maliti from entering the mine premises when he arrived in a ZANIS vehicle accompanied by ZANIS reporters.