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

1. Do CNMC-run companies in Zambia replace personal protective equipment (PPE)
damaged during work? Under what circumstances are they not immediately replaced?
Do some work departments require that workers wait until the elapse of the
timeframe for acquiring new PPE? Does the type of equipment affect this
determination?
2. Does CNMC have any internal policies in place in Zambia to discipline or take more
severe action against managers who require workers to work in unsafe areas or under
unsafe conditions? How can workers report such problems to management without
threat of repercussions? Would CNMC support establishing an ombudsman in the
Chinese embassy in Zambia that could field anonymous complaints about labor abuses?
3. Are managers in CNMC-run operations in Zambia permitted to overrule decisions by
safety officers about whether miners should continue in potentially dangerous areas?
If so, why are they permitted to do this, which is contrary to standard practice in
other multinationals’ copper mining operations?
4. Do CNMC-run companies in Zambia permit 12-hour shifts? If so, why is this
permitted, since other copper mining companies in Zambia only permit 8-hour shifts,
as outlined by Zambian law?
5. What policies does CNMC have in place to ensure that its subsidiaries fulfill mining
regulations and labor laws in Zambia, including International Labour Organization
treaties that Zambia has ratified? Are there any monitoring or reporting mechanisms
in place in regards to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration
Commission’s “instructing opinions” for state-owned enterprises, like CNMC?
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