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

measures are essentially a continuation of previous systems and policies, therefore it is
impossible to say that “when CNMC took over from the previous investor, the safety
practices changed considerably for the worse.” With regards to this view, we have held
frank discussions with Zambian employees who believe that the idea that “safety
practices changed considerably for the worse” lacks factual basis. We will send you the
opinions of these Zambian workers on this matter, as well as their names and contact
details, for verification purposes.
C. Chambishi Copper Smelter
Chambishi Copper Smelter has informed the investigation team that they have not
received any request for interviews with relevant personnel.
With reference to health and safety measures, Chambishi Copper Smelter now has an
independent safety and environmental protection department where its (Chinese)
manager is the assistant to Chambishi Copper Smelter’s general manager, the deputy
manager is a Zambian worker, and the rest of the department is made up of Zambian
workers. The department has three responsibilities: safety, environment, and health.
Safety within the company is managed on three levels: the company’s safety department,
safety officers within the work departments (and who are selected by the miners), and group
leaders (who have undergone safety training). Safety officers within the company are fulltime
safety management officers; safety patrols are conducted 24 hours a day. There are
safety officers of all levels conducting the necessary patrols all day in the mines. In the event
of a significant potential safety risk, safety officers are able to act according to Zambia’s
mines safety regulations as well as company regulations in order to prevent activities that
violate safety regulations. They can report immediately to Chambishi Copper Smelter’s
production manager and control center. They also have the right to, according to “Safety
Regulations” and “Emergency Response Plans,” take the correct approach in halting
production, so as to prevent major accidents during production.
Should a more severe accident (MSN Reportable Incident) occur, the safety officers shall
follow regulations accordingly and report to the Mines Safety Department (MSD)
immediately. To date, Chambishi Copper Smelter has yet to uncover any pattern of
underreporting. The company believes, given that the smelting plant operates at high
temperatures and high pressure, the presence of safety risks in any form is not permissible.
Chambishi Copper Smelter has developed emergency response plans for the operating
conditions particular to a copper smelting plant. Chambishi Copper Smelter is an
advanced smelting enterprise that is systematic, highly mechanized, and automated.
Safety officers have the authority to prevent any actions that violate regulations on safe
production, provided that the entire production line is not halted.
For instance, in situations where production systems under a programmable logic
controller are affected, or where a halt in production will result in or cause some
accidents, safety officers should immediately report to the production control center and
adopt corresponding measures.
Chambishi Copper Smelter has requirements on the distribution and wearing of PPE, and
these requirements differ according to the various operating jobs. The requirements on
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