VEDANTA Resources PLC is the only saviour for the giant Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) which is on the blink of flooding because of lack of re-capitalisation to allow it to operate at full capacity, the three Mine Workers Unions have said.
The three Mine workers Unions, namely the Mine workers Union of Zambia (MUZ), the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) and the United Mine workers Union of Zambia (UMUZ) said they had agreed to have Vedanta Resources PLC to run the giant mine before it could get flooded
MUZ president Joseph Chewe said during a press briefing yesterday tha, under the current situation when KCM was on the blink of getting flooded, they had decided to embrace Vedanta Resources PLC to avoid losing the giant mine
At the press briefing which was attended by NUMAW president Saul Simujika and his UMUZ counterpart Wisdom Ngwira, Mr Chewe said they were not ashamed to go back to their ‘vomits’ or U-turn on their position on Vedanta Resources PLC to save the mine and the jobs of their members
“Under the current situation, we are not ashamed to go back to our vomits or to U-turn on our position on Vedanta Resources PLC because Vedanta is the only saviour for KCM whose situation is desperate and some parts of the mines were flooding
“We have decided to reach this decision because the talks between the Government and Vedanta Resources is taking too long, while on the other hand, the situation at the mine was getting desperate with some parts of the mine getting flooded. So to save the mine, we think we should go back to our vomits and embrace Vedanta Resources PLC,’’ Mr Chewe said
Mr Chewe said while the three unions had welcomed Vedanta Resources PLC, they would like to be part of negotiations as the government discusses the terms and conditions of running the mine Mr Chewe said Vedanta Resources PLC had become unpopular among mine workers at KCM, the community and the suppliers and contractors hence should work hard to fulfil what it had promised the miners and the community
“As Vedanta Resources PLC discusses with the government on the taking over of KCM, as unions, we want to be part of the negotiations so that we speak for the workers who are our members. We hope if Vedanta Resources PLC takes over KCM, they will work on a number of things which the miners and the community in general complained about them,’’ Mr Chewe said.
