First Quantum Mining and Operations Limited (FQMO) Mining Division has sacked some of their employees over the ‘illegal’ protest they participated in over the changes in the staff pension scheme.
The National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) has disclosed that they are still engaging management at First Quantum Minerals Limited (FQM) on the possibility of them reinstating the 27 employees who were dismissed for holding a sit in protests over a newly planned and voluntary pension scheme for employees.
About 275 First Quantum Mining and Operations Limited (FQMO) Mining Division employees took what has been described as an illegal strike action at the Kansanshi Mine recently over the introduction of a private pension scheme and management of the mine raised charges against them and subsequently suspended them.
According to FQM, the pension scheme was the result of a mutual agreement between FQMO Mining Division management and all the unions representing the employees’ interests during the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations of December 2020.
Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, NUMAW President James Chansa said 209 of the 275 employees have since been reinstated while 26 are still under interrogation and 27 have been summarily dismissed.
Chansa said the 27 dismissed either were ring-leaders in the ‘illegal’ protest or had already been given final warning by the management. He noted that the dismissed employees have been given chance to appeal their judgement and it was the Union’s expectation that a good number of them could be reconsidered after their appeal is heard.
“For those who were dismissed, management was looking at case by case and some of them were ringleaders while others were on final warning considering the past records and so on.
“For the other 26, their fate is yet to be known because they are still under interrogation. But even for those who were dismissed were given chance to appeal and it is expectations that quite a good number will be reconsidered when their appeal is head,” Chansa said.
He said, “As a union, we regret that our members went on strike but at the same time we pleaded with management to extend amnesty to quite a number of them and thank God it happened.
Chansa said the union would continue to engage the mine on the possibility of reinstating the 27 workers.
On September 9, 2021, shift employees from the FQMO Mining Division downed tools at the start of the night shift of Thursday 9 September 2021. Subsequently, at the start of their shift, the day shift crew of Friday 10 September also downed tools. However, the majority of these day shift workers returned to work during the shift.
