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

Overtime is supposed to be four hours every day. But it doesn’t make sense
in terms of the pay.… Last month I received less than 200,000 [Kwacha, or
$42] for overtime. Yet I put in 30 hours of overtime every week! They don’t
tell us how they calculate this, they refuse…. Our hours are too long for the
pay we receive. 242
Many workers complained about the lack of breaks over the long hours. An operator in the
SX/EW plant said:
Sometimes we’ll share some bread that someone has brought in, eating a
little while we work. But you can’t step away for lunch—they say we’re a
continuous process. By the end of the day, we’re so tired. We look at our
brothers in other mines [who work eight-hour shifts] and wonder what’s
different with these Chinese. 243
Several miners at Sino Metals said that the only positive aspect of the long shift was that
they received a little overtime pay to supplement their salaries, which helped them to
better make ends meet. However, they all, like the leach pad worker quoted above,
expressed dismay at the overtime pay—which was generally around 200,000 Kwacha ($42)
for the month. 244 As discussed below, this overtime appears to fall short of the
requirements under Zambian labor law.
In response to a Human Rights Watch letter addressing concerns, CNMC said Sino Metals
“considers it untrue” that “some departments force workers to work” 365 days without an
off day, although provided no further detail. Multiple miners from specific departments, as
noted above, told Human Rights Watch that they had no days off. CNMC’s letter also said
that the company had engaged the union about ending the 12-hour workday during the
collective bargaining negotiations at the end of 2010. The letter stated that Sino Metals
“completely in agreement that shift lengths shall be implemented in line with its workers’
wishes,” and pointed to a clause in the most recent collective agreement that says, “The
Union in consultation with its members will prescribe to management measures that will
govern the shift change procedures.” 245 The letter faulted the union for not yet replying. 246
242 Human Rights Watch interview with leach pad operator A at Sino Metals, Kitwe, November 8, 2010.
243 Human Rights Watch interview with miner A at SX/EW plant at Sino Metals, Kitwe, July 13, 2011.
244 Human Rights Watch interviews with miner A in the tailings department at Sino Metals, Kitwe, November 8, 2010; with miner C
at SX/EW plant at Sino Metals, Kitwe, July 13, 2011; and with leach pad operator A at Sino Metals, Kitwe, November 8, 2010.
245 Letter from CNMC to Human Rights Watch, October 8, 2011.
246 Ibid.
77 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011