File picture: Reuters File picture: Reuters
Lusaka - Mopani Copper Mines, the Zambian unit of Glencore, plans to cut about 4 300 jobs, according to National Union for Miners and Allied Workers President James Chansa.
The company cited lower copper prices, an electricity shortage and unpaid value-added tax refunds as the reasons behind its decision during a meeting with union leaders on Monday, Chansa said by phone after the talks.
“We have said no to this idea and we’ve instead asked them to dialogue with us and find a better solution,” said Chansa, whose union has about 2 400 members at Mopani.
A local spokesman for Mopani wasn’t immediately able to comment when contacted by phone. Calls to government officials including Mines Minister Christopher Yaluma and Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda didn’t connect.
Mopani is the biggest mining employer in Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, with 20 000 workers, half of them contractors. Glencore plans to suspend its operations in Zambia and at Katanga Mining in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo for 18 months, the company said on September 7. Katanga Mining will retain 80 percent of its workforce during the halt, the company said last week.
Mining threat
Chishimba Kambwili, a Zambian government spokesman, on Sunday threatened to suspend the mining licence of CNMC Luanshya Copper Mines if it didn’t rescind a decision to halt operations at its Baluba mine, where it sent over 1 600 workers on leave. Glencore was yet to officially notify the government of its intentions, Kambwili said on state television.
Power cuts after drought reduced water levels at hydro-power dams and weaker copper prices have put pressure on the mining industry in Zambia, which is Africa’s largest copper producer after Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mopani’s workforce reduction will probably be directed at employees and the number of cuts could grow if contract positions are also eliminated, Chansa said. The company told the union it would write to inform the government’s labour department on Monday about the decision, to give it the legal 60 days’ notice before the retrenchments can take effect, he said.
Mopani will continue with capital projects and it may keep some of the more profitable sections of the mine in production, said Chansa.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu plans to meet mining unions to discuss “pressing” issues, state-run ZNBC reported on Monday, citing Chanda Kabwe, a district commissioner in the Copperbelt province. He declined to say what’s expected to come of the talks.
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