ZCCM-Investment Holding admits wrongs at Maamba coal mine Management

By Tovin Ngombe     

Zambia Consolidated Copper Mine (ZCCM)  Investment holding  Executive Officer Joseph Chikolwa said there are a lot of wrong things obtaining at Maamba coal  mine  management  level because there is no one in the senior rank.    

Mr. Chikolwa said in an interview over the unlawful demotions and reduction of salaries for some employees that the issue of selective salary increment and employing people without proper qualification at the Maamba mine was something that could be addressed.    

He said Maamba Coal mine board could have acted on wrong information from Management over the selective salary increment for some of the workers.    

“It pains me to see a lot of people suffering at Maamba mine as government workers we have a duty to ensure that no one is punished over a small issue, we can not fail to address the current problem at Maamba mine,” Mr Chikolwa said.    

Mr. Chikolwa said government has since appointed Stephen Mutembo as the new managing Director for the mine to replace Wylbur Simuusa who is now the Member of Parliament for Nchanga constituency under Patriotic Front (PF).    

However, the department of labour under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has urged Maamba Coal Mine Management to rescind its decision of unlawful suspension and of reduction of salaries from some of its employees.    

In its letter dated 29 October to Maamba coal mine management Choma labour department states that management selectively increased salaries for some individuals in the salary scale of M5 leaving others without any proper reason.    

The letter reads that instead of correcting the mistake, after the some workers complained, they punished them further through demotions and suspensions as though denying them an increment was not enough.    

“The charge you gave them of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information came about because of your management’s unfairness in dealing with issues of human resource,” the letter reads.    

It also stated that the said charge of the disclosure of confidential information to the Sinazongwe District Commissioner (DC)  Laiven Apuleni could not hold because he is a senior government official and is under oath to know such matters.    

The letter states that if management strongly felt that a punishment of some kind was needed a reprimand would have been better than demoting them and deducting their salaries.When contacted Maamba Coal Mines Acting Mine Manager Songwe Nyembe said it was wrong for the workers to report to the DC because he was a third party even when Maamba coal mine is owned by Government.    

But when asked  later to disclose the decision that management made Mr Nyembe said   his management has sent the head of Industrial Relations Manager Mathias Siilongo to go and talk to the labour officer in Choma.    

Mr. Nyembe alleged that the Choma labour officer who issued the letter only listened to one side of the story and failed to get management’s view.    

Acting Labour Inspector Peter Phiri said Maamba Mine management has refused to rescind its decision of unlawful demotion and suspensions.    

Mr. Phiri said since Maamba Mine was a government institution it was wrong for management to fail to address the matter because the whole issues boarders on people’s salaries and welfare.He said if the matter is taken to industrial relations court it was still government that would bear the costs and in an event that it looses the case.    

Mr Nyembe said it was not wrong for the demoted workers to be replaced with unqualified personnel if they were able to deliver.    

Some of the demoted employees in Management have been replaced with people that have grade seven qualifications.    

The demoted people whose salary scale has been reduced from M5 to M6 would also be supervised by people who are less qualified with craft certificates.