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

almost never paid, even when they were required to work beyond the standard 48-hour
week there (see textbox on NFCA, below). At Sino Metals, as seen in accounts above,
miners complained that they received extremely small overtime pay despite working as
many as 30 overtime hours each week, public holidays, and Sundays. In its response,
CNMC said that all of its companies paid overtime. Regarding Sino Metals and NFCA, it did
not specify the precise overtime pay percentage. At CCS, it said it was 1.5 times the normal
pay; at China Luanshya Mine, two times normal pay. 261
In contrast to the hours of work at the Chinese-run copper mining operations, miners at
KCM, Mopani, and Kansanshi all said that their standard work week is between 40 and 48
hours. The Canadian-owned Kansanshi previously had a 12-hour shift at its processing
plant but agreed with the unions to reduce to an eight -hour shift during their 2011
collective bargaining agreement. Eight-hour shifts are likewise standard at the other
copper mining companies, including KCM and Mopani, where three shifts are employed in
departments that the companies deem necessary to operate continuously.
On overtime, a few miners from other multinationals reported issues, though, in contrast to
the Chinese-run operations, few reported problems and even those who complained often
deemed it a relatively minor problem. While several miners at KCM said they always
received overtime pay for work beyond 48 hours, two miners said that their bosses often
told them just to take a day off, rather than receive overtime pay—which they found to be
unfair, as they preferred to work and receive the overtime pay. 262 At Kansanshi, miners
both at the mining site and the processing plant reported no problems with overtime
payment, though one miner expressed frustration that Sunday was paid as a normal day. 263
At Mopani, miners who spoke to Human Rights Watch all said that they received overtime
pay so long as the work was authorized. However, one miner explained that at times the
Zambian managers appear to skirt the rules and not report employees’ overtime:
Sometimes, the foreman asks us to work over, to work 12 hours. And there
is a problem of authorized versus unauthorized overtime. When it’s
reported to the pay office that we’re to work overtime, we have no issues,
it’s paid. But sometimes the boss doesn’t put our overtime in at the pay
must be approved for it to be paid. We complained about the lack of payment, and the process has been sorted out.” Human
Rights Watch interview with surface electrician B at CLM, Luanshya, November 10, 2010.
261 Letter from CNMC to Human Rights Watch, October 8, 2011.
262 Human Rights Watch interviews with pump operator underground at KCM, Chingola, November 14, 2010; and with artisan
technician in the engineering department at KCM, Chingola, November 14, 2010.
263 Human Rights Watch interviews with miners at Kansanshi mining, Solwezi, November 11-12, 2010.
81 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011