[The miners want a 100% salary increase!! There seems to be quite a bit of instability brewing in Zambia lately. I have seen other disquieting news items too, but this is the first one I decided to post. Jan]

BUSINESS in Chingola yesterday came to a standstill as miners at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) went on rampage, destroying property worth several millions of kwacha.

Sources said the miners had been angered by false reports that they had called off the strike, which started nine days ago.

Meanwhile, the KCM strike, along with another one at Asarco Mine in the US, has induced an increase in copper prices on the London Metal Exchange, which by yesterday remained high at US$3,363 per tonne.

The source said the miners went on rampage after a negotiator they had chosen to replace the representatives of the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the National Union for Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) disappeared yesterday.

The source said the miners had lost confidence in the two unions, which they accused of having been compromised by the KCM management by accepting a 30 per cent salary increment.

The miners are demanding a 100 per cent salary increment.

The source said the miners had passed a vote of no confidence in MUZ and NUMAW and elected Anthony Chabala has since proceeded with negotiations on behalf of the miners and addressed them on Tuesday.

However, Chabala briefly disappeared in the evening after he went into hiding as intelligence officers allegedly pursued him.

This enraged the miners who then confronted the police as they thought he was in police custody.

They mobilised themselves yesterday in the morning and marched to the open pit where they rolled over a KCM vehicle, shattered a windowpane at a security office and damaged another vehicle belonging to an individual.

KCM vice-president for corporate affairs, Augustine Seyuba, confirmed the damage caused to the property and said management was concerned that the situation had degenerated into violence.

“We are closely monitoring the situation to ensure that life or property is not lost. For now our concern is that the situation doesn’t get out of hand to endanger life,” Seyuba said.

Later, the miners marched into town and almost burst into Shoprite. However, the shop’s management quickly closed the shop to prevent looting.

They lit a fire in the middle of the main road at town centre and chanted slogans.

The commotion went on for three hours and was only disrupted by police officers.

By yesterday afternoon, all shops and banks were closed while there was a heavy presence of police officers.

MUZ president Andrew Mwanza expressed ignorance at the election of Chabala as the new representative of the miners.

He appealed to miners to get back to work.

“Any sane Zambian knows that miners live by the grace of God and damage to property is worrisome. Where will our children work if we damage the property?” he said.

Mwanza said the issue was between the union and management and that workers should return to work.

“Let the love of God prevail and please let us go back to work and see what the future has for us,” he said.

Copperbelt Province police commanding officer Francis Kabonde confirmed that the miners had been enraged by misinformation that the negotiations had been concluded.

Kabonde also confirmed that miners had received false information that Chabala had been arrested, which drove them into their action.

“They went on rampage chanting and destroying property. We had to chase them away for fear that they may destroy more property. Others went into town and we got wind that they wanted to break into Shoprite but we were quick to stop them,” Kabonde said.

Source: AllAfrica.Com
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200507210461.htm…/p>