LUMWANA Mining Company Limited has retrenched more than 80 workers citing reduced exploration activities barely days after President Sata cautioned the Vedanta-owned Konkola Copper Mines to save 1,500 jobs.
Documentation in possession of the Zambia Daily Mail reveals that 73 of the retrenched workers are unionised while 10 were holding management positions.
According to a letter of termination of employment addressed to one of the affected workers dated October 29, 2013 and signed by Lumwana country exploration manager Roger Staley, the last day of work for the 83 employees was October 31, 2013.
Some officials at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security also confirmed in an interview that the workers have been retrenched and that the matter has been forwarded to the ministry headquarters.
Labour and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda was not immediately available for a comment.
“Following the communication sessions held at Lumwana Exploration in regard to the future of exploration activities in the Australia Pacific region, I regretfully inform you that your position with the Exploration Group in Zambia is no longer required.
“As a consequence of this decision and the unavailability of an alternative position within the organisation, your employment with Lumwana Mining Company will cease effective 31st October 2013,” the letter reads in part.
The letter further says a severance payment will be made to the retrenched employees within 30 days of the employment termination date.
According to the letter, the retrenched workers were required to undergo all the activities scheduled in the coming week including exit formalities.
And some of the affected workers complained that Lumwana retrenched Zambian geologists and maintained all expatriate geologists.
They wondered at Lumwana’s rationale behind dismissing experienced Zambian geologists and maintaining expatriate workers who only have two years of experience in Zambia.
“All geologists who have been fired are Zambians, some with seven years of experience. Those expatriates are new and have two years of experience,” one of the retrenched workers, who sought anonymity for fear of being victimised, said.
President Sata on Tuesday warned multi-nationals to walk a tight rope regarding the matter of jobs in particular and taxes in general as reports mount that Zambia could be losing billions of kwacha from multi-nationals that either avoid to pay their dues to Zambia or simply evade tax.
Lumwana was bought off from Australian miner Equinox Minerals and it later became a 100 percent owner of the mining outfit after ZCCM offloaded its shares at US$160 million in 2011.
that’s what you get when you let your economy be run by foreigners.
because of the cancelled si, they are now daring the govt. just to see how they will react tot this.
lets see the govt. bite now if they have teeth as we are now done with talking.
enough is enough.
U risk being sued. Lt will make money out of you. This is not the forum for your bizness.
This makes economic sense and political nonsense. Mines are there to make money. It would be suicidal on the part of the mines to keep loiterers in offices. It wont help the President to issue directives because should Lumwana leave, the new owners will still find these workers useless and a liability.
As a way to ensure that such critical industries are beneficial to all, grz can partner with investors, where grz owns, say 40% to 50% of a company, yet remains a sleeping partner.
We might just be able to avoid such.
#OneZambia
Lumwana Mine employees in production are not affected. Infact, i have seen massive recruitment of ex-Moolmans employees (operators) by Lumwana Mine for some time now.
Everywhere in the world, exploration jobs are not pensionable and once the project is completed employees definitely have to move forward with other things. Lumwana exploration yes had about 15 expatriate and 3 Zambian geologists who also had 2 years renewable contracts. The other geological personnel were working on short term contracts and for sure these people knew about the outcome.
It is too expensive to keep manpower and other assets running when the exploration project is over. Geology mine/production team has only three expats and about 12 to 14 Zambian geologists who are still intact.
What the mines are doing makes economic sense. We Zambians should realise that the copper that has been dug does not get replenished: it will run out one day. KCM might be telling us the truth that the deposits are getting exhausted. If there is no more copper to dig why keep miners employed? If the exploration is done, why keep the explorers?
We need to reset our economy to an asset that we have comparative and competitive advantage in, such as hydro power, and build this industry before copper completely runs out.
By the way, has anyone got a plan on what we will do with the craters once the mines expire?
What you say is totally facts in the economics life of a nation! Unfortunately In Zambia the general public tend to think a job is an entitlement that must be nursed by nationalism bravado! These populist thrusts ruin the economy of the Country! Economy deals with facts, painful they might be, but Keep the Country Healthy with less casualties, but too much glasses of Nationalism make the country drunk, and make it drive haphazardly till its crash!
The only problem is the guy Craig to cross over to LMC when we already have a bunch of hopeless so called security expatriates just making coffee when security is non-skilled job. As for Collin Hudson, the pig as$ clown has outlived, let him go. You can’t be an expatriate at one company for more than 6 years. We he’s bought the immigration/OP/Zambia Police and he is having a fake Zambian NRC but his days are numbered.
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