Employees for Sinoma Cement owned by the Chinese are currently at Community House protesting against poor working conditions and want President Hakainde Hichilema to intervene in their plight.
The employees allege that management does not allow them to form a union but opt to hire a labour broker by the name of KSM Consultant.
THE UNRULY BEHAVIOR OF KSM EMPLOYER AT SINOMA CEMENT PLANT
We have complained to many authorities about the the mismanagement and the conditions at Sinoma Cement Plant but our complaints are not yielding any results. We have decided to go public so that maybe the President (HIS EXCELENCE. HAKAHINDE HICHILEMA) can hear us and take action.The Labour Commissioner has been to Sinoma Several times but to no avail.
KSM is the employer who was awarded the contract of Human Resources at Sinoma Cement Plant but previously was just the consultant and because the Chinese didn’t want the union in the plant and He being the consultant and a good negotiator they gave him the contract as the main employer.
Us the employees we had keen interest to form a union and chose the union executive to represent us and of course we managed to enact the union executive after that quarantine protest which happened last year September but that union executive was dismantled in the name of transition from Sinoma to KSM. and Many of the union exuctives members were fired only leaving two executive members, four were gone. This is evident that the company doesn’t want a union and is denying us the constitutional right of belonging to the union of our choice.
After the transition we again signed the union membership forms but he himself (KSM) never wanted to sign the agreement form so that we can form another union. They came to sign an agreement when we had protested on 21 th October 2021.
When we had a protest he agreed that he is going to make an increament of K1500 across the board,effectively October 2021 but he never abide to that agreement even though it was signed in the presence of the Labour Commissioner. Upto now there is no increment and now he has took his anger by charging and giving dismissal letter to every employee that took part in the protest and when he apear in the media he pretends and gives wrong information that he had resolved the issues at Sinoma but in the actual sense nothing has been resolved.
Please Mr. President we need your intervention here at Sinoma. We have suffered the oppression under this Zambian employer who is the main employer at Sinoma Cement Plant. Mr. President Sir, Sinoma is not far from your residence am sure it’s just less than 10 kilometers. Your quick intervention in this matter will be highly appreciated.
Concerned Workers.
