â€œYou'll Be Fired if You Refuseâ€ - Human Rights Watch

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收件人 : 人权观察非洲部主任丹尼尔 · 贝克勒日期 : 2011 年 10 月 8 日主题 : 中国有色集团在赞比亚各矿业企业安全经营介绍 Attention: Daniel Bekele, Human Rights Watch Africa Director Date: 8 October 2011 Subject: An overview of safety management in CNMC’s mining enterprises in Zambia Dear Mr. Daniel Bekele, We have received your letter dated 22 September 2011. The matters laid out in the letter are being taken seriously by CNMC management, and we have launched a general investigation into these issues across CNMC-owned operations, with the aim to rectify existing malpractices, to eliminate possible potential risks, and to work together in managing our enterprises well. The relevant information is set forth below: 1. Health and safety issues According to our investigation, the management approach that CNMC-owned operations have adopted places high importance on issues related to health and safety conditions during production. A. NFCA NFCA has, in accordance with the requirements of Zambia’s mining laws, developed a “Safe Production Management System” in which the Safety and Environmental Protection Department is entirely focused on safe production standards. Any worker with recommendations, feedback or grievances regarding safety issues can lodge a complaint with the Safety and Environmental Protection Department to seek resolution. At the same time, workers can also lodge complaints directly with the local government agency responsible for safety issues, Zambia’s Mines Safety Department (located in Kitwe, where NFCA is). NFCA has also appointed safety officers or persons responsible for safety. During their safety inspections of the workplace, should they discover any unsafe working environment, unsafe working conditions, or any worker engaging in unsafe actions, they have the authority to request that workers involved stop their work immediately and for changes to be made to address the dangerous situation or potential dangers. Only when the dangerous situation or potential dangers have been eliminated can work resume. Higher-level safety managers should support the correct decisions made by the on-site safety officers and do not have the authority to overrule these decisions. Regardless of one’s status and position within the company, any person who issues orders or carries out duties in violation of regulations, or violates labor regulations, thereby placing safety at risk, will be stopped and strong disciplinary action will be taken against him. Those responsible for causing accidents shall be held accountable and severely penalized, based on laws and the company’s disciplinary regulations. NFCA has established the “Management of Distribution of Personal Protective Equipment for Workers” system where workers are provided with protective equipment on a regular basis, according to the nature of the job undertaken by each worker, to satisfy their safety and health needs. There is a fixed schedule for the distribution of protective equipment. 103 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011
Equipment damaged ahead of the scheduled date of replacement should be replaced, but depending on the specific circumstances, the costs incurred shall be borne either by NFCA or the worker himself. Should a worker not abide by relevant laws and relevant company policies governing the proper wearing of required protective equipment, the worker will be strictly prohibited from entering and working in the workplace. In 2010, the company further supplemented and improved measures to manage protective equipment for workers. It laid down detailed regulations regarding personal protective equipment for all forms of work within the company, as well as the replacement timeframe for the protective equipment. According to Zambia’s safety and environmental protection laws, respirators are not required on all jobs, however NFCA has provided respirators, dust masks, and other protective equipment that meet safety standards. These regulations were officially implemented on1 January 2011. Herein is an issue that requires special mention. NFCA’s underground mining operations have been subcontracted to a Chinese company, JCHX Mining Management Co., Ltd (JCHX), using a management model where on-site projects operated by JCHX come under the central management of NFCA through NFCA’s Mining Department. For the past few years, through the concerted efforts of both parties, a positive record has been achieved through stable progress in production management. However, JCHX had yet to be registered as an independent legal entity in Zambia, which brought about many problems for NFCA in its management operations and resulted in NFCA being subject to repeated criticisms from Zambia government departments including the tax department, audit department, mining department and safety department. To this end, we have repeatedly requested for JCHX to register as an independent legal entity in Zambia. In 2010, during the process of finalizing the 2011-2013 mining contract, JCHX obliged with our request to register as an independent legal entity in Zambia. After it registered as an independent legal entity in Zambia, both parties signed the mining contract. This was highly commended by Zambia’s mining department, which believes that it is essential for the regulation of companies’ production and management. In addition, NFCA believes that language and cultural differences during communication and interaction with workers, as well as during work planning, could have possibly resulted in misunderstandings about the actual state of affairs. The company’s actual intent behind various work issues may have not been thoroughly and clearly expressed to the workers, which would have assisted them in understanding, accepting, and supporting such matters. Nevertheless, opinions and recommendations provided by the workers have been beneficial and will further improve NFCA’s management standards, but NFCA is also of the view that the opinions of some are not representative of the opinions held by all Zambian workers. B. China Luanshya Mine The claims of the report run contrary to the practices at China Luanshya Mine. Since the takeover of Luanshya Mine in 2009, appropriate safety management measures have been implemented at Luanshya Mine, the safety situation has been stable, and this has been “YOU’LL BE FIRED IF YOU REFUSE” 104
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Zambia “You’ll Be Fired if You
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Copyright © 2011 Human Rights Watc
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Company Safety Officers without Aut
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Summary Over the past decade, China
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Chinese-run Copper Mining Companies
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uling in MUZ’s favor on the estab
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Recommendations To the Government o
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Reward managers and safety inspecto
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them as having spoken to Human Righ
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I. Background China’s role in Afr
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[The Chinese government] supports c
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History of Zambia’s Copper Indust
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Copper prices rose steadily from 20
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for CNMC in 2003—13 years after t
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policeman. Although the police inve
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underground mining has more than do
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After Mwanawasa died in August 2008
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quickly requested that the company
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of us in planning has our own compu
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Economic, Social, and Cultural Righ
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problems. In some areas, they shoul
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A national-level official at the Mi
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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
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Miners told Human Rights Watch that
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While Sino Metals appears to be the
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Casual Workers at Sino Metals: No P
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speak further, refuted that anyone
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Godwin Beene, permanent secretary i
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They have a safety officer in place
Page 60 and 61: frequent, that two to three a week
Page 62 and 63: empowered to refuse to continue wor
Page 64 and 65: injured in a 2009 accident, contras
Page 66 and 67: unsafe, don’t do it.’ If the mi
Page 68 and 69: Best Safety Practices in Zambia’s
Page 70 and 71: Deliberate Failure to Report Accide
Page 72 and 73: 50,000, 100,000 Kwacha to not repor
Page 74 and 75: Problem of Subcontractors at Konkol
Page 76 and 77: are also corruption issues, a serio
Page 78 and 79: Kateka also stressed that the under
Page 80 and 81: Physical Abuse by Chinese Superviso
Page 82 and 83: III. Hours and Overtime Across Zamb
Page 84 and 85: Overtime is supposed to be four hou
Page 86 and 87: “Let me tell you, for people who
Page 88 and 89: almost never paid, even when they w
Page 90 and 91: Even when it is not an emergency si
Page 92 and 93: IV. Anti-Union Activities If you do
Page 94 and 95: Sino Metals still does not allow us
Page 96 and 97: that once such a committee is estab
Page 98 and 99: Intimidating Union Representatives
Page 100 and 101: A union representative at Sino Meta
Page 102 and 103: exercising or for the anticipated e
Page 104 and 105: V. Conclusion This report seeks to
Page 106 and 107: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
Page 108 and 109: hour shifts, though generally only
Page 112 and 113: acknowledged by various parties. In
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Page 116 and 117: common practice in the mining indus
Page 118 and 119: egistering with the company. Howeve
Page 120 and 121: Annex II: Copper Price, 2001-2011 1
Page 122 and 123: 2009 Financial Summary for the MSD
Page 124 and 125: Annex IV: Wages in Chinese and Othe
Page 126 and 127: Prior to 2008, the differences in s
Page 128 and 129: Annex V: Salary Breakdown at Sino M
Page 130: H UMAN R I G H TS WATCH 350 Fifth A
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