Govt assures no worker will be retrenched

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Fackson Shamenda

LABOUR Minister Fackson Shamenda has urged KCM to stop retrenching workers

and that it should explore other tangible solutions to overcome its challenges.

 

This follows recent pronouncements by KCM to retrench 2,000 workers from the
current 8,263 workforce citing downward trend in copper prices in the last one
year, a move that Government opposed.

 

Shamenda was speaking in Lusaka
yesterday when he toured the newly constructed KR3.5 million training centre
for the Zambia Union of
Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) located in Olympia Township.

 

“Even the Bible puts it clear that people need work to live. So, the issue
of retrenching workers at KCM and other firms should not always be resorted to
because there are other measures to employ to preserve their challenges.

 

“I want to assure Zambians that no single employee will lose their job at
KCM because if these workers are retrenched, it means Government will also lose
the needed revenue,” he said.

 

Shamenda is today expected to hold a
tripartite meeting involving KCM and other stakeholders to find lasting
solutions on the issue of retrenchments.

 

He directed the Miners Union of Zambia (MUZ) to team up with KCM to ensure
no worker was retrenched and that the two parties should find measures of
solving the mining company’s challenges.

 

He said Government’s desire was to ensure mining firms and other companies
operated in a conducive environment to continue creating more job opportunities
for Zambians.

 

The Government would not want to see
already employed Zambians being retrenched when other substantial solutions
could be found to keep the firms continue to operate smoothly.

 

He also summoned Shoprite Checker’s management to his office over alleged
continuous poor conditions of service for workers at the chain store.

 

He warned that Government would not tolerate investors exploiting Zambians
at the expense of making wealth without considering improving their working
conditions and salaries.

 

 

 

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