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ZCCM to shed jobs

    JOHANNESBURG

    The acquisition of 70 percent of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) assets by South African-owned Anglo American at the weekend will have a positive effect of unlocking resources
    to recapitalise the mines, trade union sources told IRIN on Thursday.

    An official of the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) said many of the local suppliers to the mines had not been paid over the last two years because ZCCM did not have the money to meet its obligations. "We hope this uncertainty will be over once the new owners move in and unlock resources to recapitalise the mines, thereby removing the uncertainty about the operations," said the official.

    He said there was a three-year backlog on talks about improvement in wages and conditions for mine employees. He said, however, a negative aspect of the handover was the possibility of job losses once the new owners take over operations.

    According to MUZ, two years ago ZCCM indicated that between 7,000 and 8,000 workers would have to be retrenched to keep the mines afloat. The World Bank this week gave the Zambian government credit of about US $60 million, some of which, the MUZ official said, would be used for retrenchment packages at
    ZCCM.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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