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

ules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing without
previous authorisation.” 275
In 2009, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) noted that while “Zambia has
ratified the ILO Conventions on trade union rights… the legislation on freedom of
association and collective bargaining is not in full conformity with ILO Conventions … [and]
trade union rights are widely flouted in the mining sector in particular.” 276 In particular, the
ITUC found that, in contravention with the ILO conventions, Zambian law permitted the
stopping of strikes that were not in the public interest and subjected them to procedural
requirements that made it “almost impossible … to hold a legal strike.” 277 The ITUC noted a
“worsening social climate in the mining industry” for trade unions, with specific reference
to “Chinese investors who are often accused of intimidating and brutal attitudes.” 278
Efforts to Bar MUZ at CCS, Sino Metals
Management at two Chinese-owned copper mining operations have actively impeded
workers from joining MUZ. Although opinions vary greatly throughout the Copperbelt, MUZ
is often reputed to have greater resources and energy to fight for members’ rights than has
the much newer NUMAW.
At China Luanshya Mine (CLM), where the previous structure was kept in place following
CNMC’s purchase, both NUMAW and MUZ operate freely. And at NFCA, MUZ has operated a
branch office since 2006, with NUMAW establishing its own branch office since soon after
that union’s creation in 2003. But in the Chambishi processing and smelting operations—
Sino Metals and CCS—management has continued to refuse to sign a recognition
agreement with MUZ, according to Charles Muchimba, the director of research at MUZ’s
national office. He told Human Rights Watch:
We took [Sino Metals] to court over this, over their refusal to allow a
“recognition agreement” that allows you to form an elected branch of the
union on site—that allows you to set up a branch office, essentially. The
court ruled in our favor in 2007, or 2008, but there is still no branch there.
275 International Labour Organization Convention No. 87: Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of
the Right to Organise, adopted July 7, 1948, art. 2. Zambia ratified the convention in September 1996. Both the ICCPR and the
ICESCR reference the ILO convention on the right to organize.
276 International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in Zambia: Report for
the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of Zambia, July 2009, p. 1.
277 Ibid., p. 3.
278 Ibid.
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