Author : Matt Wells
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781564328243
Total Pages : 122 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (282 download)
Book Synopsis "You'll be Fired If You Refuse" by : Matt Wells
Download or read book "You'll be Fired If You Refuse" written by Matt Wells and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past decade has seen burgeoning investment across Africa by private and state-run Chinese enterprises. This report examines the labor practices of a Chinese state-owned enterprise in four copper mining operations in Zambia. While Zambia's copper miners welcome Chinese-run companies' substantial investment and job creation, they also encounter abusive employment conditions that violate national and international standards and fall short of practices among the other multinationals operating in Zambia's copper mining industry. Miners at Chinese-run companies described consistently poor health and safety standards, including inadequate ventilation that can lead to serious lung diseases, hours of work in excess of Zambian law, the failure to replace workers' damaged protective equipment, and routine threats of being fired should they refuse to work in unsafe places. These practices, combined with the already dangerous nature of the work, cause injuries and other health complications. Many of the labor practices in Zambia seem to be exported from China's domestic mining industry, with safety and health measures treated as irritating barriers to greater profits, rather than as good business practices, both in the Chinese domestic mining industry and in Chinese-run mines in Zambia. Primary responsibility for ensuring that Zambia's copper mines operate in accordance with national and international standards rests with the Zambian government, which has largely failed to enforce the country's labor laws and mining regulations. A September 20, 2011, presidential election brought to power longtime opposition politician Michael Sata, who has long been critical of labor practices in Chinese-run companies. Sata should now demonstrate that his rhetoric will be matched by action to protect workers' rights.