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

that once such a committee is established, firms have simply sacked those
staff that constitute the committee, sending a clear message to the
workforce that unionism will not be tolerated. MUZ representatives report
that they are having to adopt underhand tactics, “The moment they are
publicly known we have ended up finding that the whole shoot are
dismissed. So, when you go there, once you have identified a shadow
committee they have to clandestinely organise.” 284
In response to Human Rights Watch’s letter describing our main findings, the Chinese
parastatal that owns the four copper mining operations in Zambia denied that either CCS
or Sino Metals had ever interfered with workers’ rights to join the union of their choice.
Specifically on CCS, the response indicated that discussions with MUZ had been
undertaken in 2009, but MUZ did not present the signatures necessary to establish a
recognition agreement. 285 As noted above, MUZ officials and CCS employees told Human
Rights Watch that this was due to active undermining by CCS management. The letter from
CNMC further states that “[w]e have discussed this with NUMAW leaders who are of the
opinion that that for a company like Chambishi Copper Smelter, where there are less than
1,000 workers, one union suffices.” 286 It is unclear why CCS would consult with NUMAW,
MUZ’s competitor union, to determine whether the presence of a second union was
warranted—rather than allow the miners themselves to make the decision.
In regards to Sino Metals, the CNMC letter stated:
Although there is only one union in the company at the moment, this
cannot be used to illustrate that the company is engaging in “anti-union
activities.” The type of union in a company, and the number of unions that
choose to enter the company, depend on the choices that the workers make
based on their free will, and are matters to do with the workers themselves.
The company will not, and does not have the right to, interfere with any
union that enters the company lawfully. 287
As with CCS, MUZ officials and Sino Metals employees expressed in interviews with Human
Rights Watch that they did not have the freedom to establish a MUZ branch office.
284 Frasier and Lungu, For Whom the Windfalls, p. 24.
285 Letter from CNMC to Human Rights Watch, October 8, 2011.
286 Ibid.
287 Ibid.
89 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011