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

uling in MUZ’s favor on the establishment of a branch office at these specific companies. Union
representatives at the Chinese-run operations also described prejudicial acts taken against them
for union activities, which violate Zambian and international labor law. These include verbal
threats to fire an employee, transfer to jobs that are outside a union representative’s training and
expertise, and “charges”—which can lead to deductions of monthly pay and even termination of
employment—for attending union meetings. Union leaders at several non-Chinese mines also
cited problems, indicating a broader failure by the Zambian government to protect union
representatives as required under Zambian and international law.
However, on certain issues in recent years, the practices of Chinese-run copper mining
companies have improved. Personal protective equipment is now provided to almost all
employees working in these mines, though several Chinese-run copper mines continue to
not promptly replace it when damaged. Physical abuse by Chinese supervisors appears to
have decreased substantially, and is now rare at NFCA and mostly obsolete at other Chineserun
copper operations. Unions are now accepted as a permanent feature of the enterprise.
These improvements show the Chinese companies can and do respond to the local
environments in which they operate, but it takes committed action from the host government.
Zambian Government’s Responsibilities
The Zambian government appears to have applied little pressure on the Chinese copper
mining companies to meet national and international labor standards beyond the flashpoint
events that generated broad anti-Chinese sentiment. Miners, journalists, union officials, and
others referred to the “special relationship” between Banda’s government and the Chinese
government, including the state-owned companies. As a result, while miners who spoke to
Human Rights Watch often expressed contempt for the Chinese management, many blame
equally the previous Zambian government for its regulatory failures.
Zambia’s Mines Safety Department (MSD) in the Ministry of Mines is supposed to ensure
compliance with health and safety regulations. But understaffed, underfunded, and facing
allegations of corruption—it provides little effective regulation of mining companies. The
Ministry of Labor appears equally weak in protecting those in the copper industry,
endorsing collective bargaining agreements that appear inconsistent with Zambian law.
President Sata has promised to take action to ensure the improvement of workers’
conditions; he would do well to start by empowering these ministries to rigorously enforce
labor standards across the copper mining industry, not just in the Chinese-run mines.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has promulgated several conventions that
outline minimum conditions in the mining industry to which Zambia is a state party. These
5 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011