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

common practice in the mining industry to protect lives and safety in production. Should
workers from the next shift be unable to take over in time, the worker who takes that shift
and works overtime will be given overtime wages. This practice, suggested during the
wage negotiations with the trade union, is recognized by both parties.
B. China Luanshya Mine
It has a system of three eight-hour shifts undertaken by four teams.Workers can rest on
weekends or any day designated as a public holiday by Zambian law. Workers working
overtime will be paid twice their usual wages. In addition, workers enjoy 24 days of paid
annual leave every year.
C. Chambishi Copper Smelter
It has a 12-hour shift system where every worker works 20 shifts in a month (calculated
according to a calendar month of 30 days).
Chambishi Copper Smelter uses copper smelting technology from Australia’s Mount Isa
copper smelting operation; Chambishi Copper Smelter’s shareholders are CNMC and
Yunnan Copper. Yunnan Copper is the first company in China to use copper smelting
technology from Australia’s Mount Isa copper smelting operation, with years of practical
experience behind it. Chambishi Copper Smelter has made broad reference to the successful
management experience of Yunnan Copper, and in our preliminary design, we decided to
adopt its 12-hour shift system. This was implemented after discussion with the trade union,
where an agreement was signed as well. This model for shift work is relatively better than
that of eight-hour shifts in that: work and non-work hours are concentrated into longer
blocks, thereby reducing the number of shifts and increasing stability in production skills; at
the same time, workers can reduce the number of times they travel to and from work each
month, thus reducing the amount of time spent on travelling for work, which then effectively
increases the amount of time workers have for themselves. With respect to the potential
impact of a 12-hour shift on workers’ mental and physical health, research and investigation
by relevant foreign agencies (mainly Australia copper companies and other relevant research
departments) have shown that the impact is not significant.
In our shift system, for workers who work longer than the 48-hour work week defined in
Zambian law, the company shall, in accordance with law, pay overtime wages that are 1.5
times of usual wages.
D. Sino-Metals
Sino-Metals considers it untrue to say, “At Sino-Metals, some departments force workers
to work 365 days a year, without a day off.”
The current shift lengths implemented at Sino-Metals are as follows: some departments
implement 12-hour shifts, the wages for some of which are calculated as overtime wages (as
they extend beyond eight hours), and the work week lasts six days. Other departments work
on a five-day work week with daily working hours of eight hours (8am-12pm; 1.30pm-
4.45pm - actual work day is less than eight hours long); they rest on Saturdays and Sundays.
Some of the departments do have 12-hour shifts, and though no safety issues have been
uncovered, the company has already expressed concern about this a while ago. In 2010,
Sino-Metals made clear to the union its view on changing the shift lengths, and during the
109 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011