Rising number of expatriates in the mines worries NUMAW

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 11:33:10 +0000

 By ANDREW MUKOMA

National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) Zambia has raised concerns over the number of expatriates being employed in the mining sector in Zambia.

According to NUMAW president James Chansa, expatriates are taking away the jobs that are supposed to be done by Zambians.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Chansa noted that Zambia has enough and qualified citizens that meet the labour market requirements to work in the mines but wondered why some mines were opting for expatriate labour.

“As a union, we are concerned and worried with the increasing expatriate labour in the mines. Zambia started mining way back and these things were not there but today expatriates are taking away our jobs,

“My understanding is that an expatriate is one who comes with a rare skill and imparts knowledge on the locals but the situation in the mines is different,” he said.

Mr Chansa observed that some of the expatriates were not qualified and were learning from Zambians.

He further said t that his union was of the view that government should make systems tight so that expatriate employees did not affect indigenous labour.

Mr Chansa said government should also ensure that only genuine foreigners are employed as expatriates.

“We want to see a situation where only genuine and qualified expatriates are allowed to work in the mines. That is why we are appealing to government to tighten the systems,” he said.