Police Confront Disgruntled Ex-Mopani Employees

Police in Kitwe yesterday were forced to confront over 50 former employees of Mopani mines after crowds stormed the mine’s offices on Central Street, demanding compensation for their dismissal. 

The miners marched on the offices at 9 o’clock on Tuesday morning, demanding to be seen by management. 

The disgruntled ex-employees complained about the unfair criteria for selecting who was eligible for ex-gratia compensation.

Police in full riot gear arrived to disperse the crowds but were met with rocks and other projectiles being thrown at them. Officers were able to dispel the protestors without any arrests. The crowds soon moved on to Katilungu to meet with officials from the Mineworkers Union of Zambia.

A spokesperson for the miners, Jairos Nyirenda, has asked mines minister Richard Musukwa to intervene in the matter of employyee compensation.

It follows the decision by Mopani mines to place its Kitwe and Mufulira locations under care and maintenance earlier this year, making 11,000 of its employees effectively redundant.

The decision came after a lack of international trade brought about by the coronavirus pandemic decimated demand for copper and made mining operations financially unsustainable. 

Mopani has since been forced to terminate a number of its business contracts, resulting in a further 7,000 job losses.