Nothing to celebrate on May Day: mine workers

Sibongile Dube

HWANGE-The Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU),  Justice Chinhema said workers were also being subjected  to slave wages which have plunged them into abject poverty.

 ‘’We have been turned into slaves by our employers. This year we are only celebrating the gift of life as our wages have been slave wages for too long,’’ he said.

Chinhema said despite being a vital cog in the economy and contributing immensely to the GDP, the welfare of mine workers in the country has remained unaddressed.

“It is sad that this year’s Workers Day comes against a background of slave wages, poor safety and health conditions in our workplaces and the general penury of  workers. We have workers who work for up to four months without pay.

There are also issues of  long hours of work in unsafe environments, the ‘earn as you work system’ introduced by Chinese employers, casualisation of labor across all mines, workers signing short term contracts when permanent work is available, and rampant labour broking introduced by corrupt, greedy managers of big companies taking over labor at companies they manage so as to pay slave wages while they earn huge.

This is a form of ‘Chibharo’ (rape) which has been institutionalized. In some places, workers are staying in tin houses and plastic houses,” he said.

Chinhema called upon the government and private companies to take mine workers more seriously and urgently address their concerns.

“We have reached a point to say enough is enough and it is now time to demand our space and confront those that are inflicting hardships on us,‘’ he said.

The ZDAMWU  2022 May Day  commemorations ran under the theme  ‘Organise to protect mine workers rights in the mining industry.’ Workers Day commemorations were done  at several venues even though the overall turnout was low.