“You'll Be Fired if You Refuse” - Human Rights Watch

A union representative at Sino Metals likewise said:
We receive a lot of intimidation from the managers. I need to perform my
duties as the union representative, to move around the plant and discuss
problem with people, to see the conditions and have things reported to me,
but the Chinese tell me that if I move around and discuss, they’ll fire me.
They also threaten to give me less for a production bonus, because they say,
“You spend too much time in meetings.” I’ve received less several times….
And they’ve said that they can’t [increase] my salary because I’m the union
rep. I do the duties of a supervisor—I have for the last 18 months—but I’m
paid the same as an attendant…. And our contracts make it more difficult.
It’s one year, two years, even for those of us that have been here since
inception. Management says that it’s not ready to give us permanent
employment. As a result, we are all worried that our contracts will not be
renewed, so we can’t strike, we can’t complain, we can’t do anything to
show our displeasure with the conditions. 299
The one- and two-year contracts that are standard in the Chambishi-based Chinese mining
operations were repeatedly described as obstructions to meaningful union activity. Union
representatives and members at each of these operations identified outspoken colleagues
who had been union officials in the local branch and then had their contracts not renewed
by management. Human Rights Watch interviewed several of these officials, who said they
received a written notice that their contract would not be renewed, without further details
or explanation. 300 While Human Rights Watch could not verify whether union activity was
related to termination in each specific case, there does appear to be a pattern of not
renewing “troublesome” union representatives. And the perception that union activity was
likely to negatively impact a person’s employment, regardless of performance, was
expressed in nearly all interviews with Human Rights Watch. Non-unionized workers at
Chinese mines often explained their decision to not join a union, such as this miner at CCS:
“The unions are compromised. If they do anything to help us, they’ll be fired. So they’re
just there. If the Chinese respected unions like the other mines, I’d join, but now, there’s
no reason.” 301 [See text box below for discussion of anti-union activities in other mines.]
299 Human Rights Watch interview with union representative B at Sino Metals, Kitwe, November 8, 2010.
300 Human Rights Watch interviews with former union representative at NFCA whose contract was terminated in 2010, Kitwe,
November 10, 2010; with former union representative at Sino Metals whose contract was terminated in 2009, Chambishi,
November 9, 2010; and with former union representative at NFCA whose contract was terminated in 2009, Kitwe, July 13, 2011.
301 Human Rights Watch interview with acid plant operator D at CCS, Kitwe, July 16, 2011. A miner at NFCA expressed similarly,
“People who have been in unions in the past have been fired for ‘inciting problems.’ More have been had their contracts
93 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011