In the midst of Zimbabwe’s flourishing mining industry, the General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Diamond & Allied Minerals Workers Union, Justice Chinhema, has called for significant improvements in the living standards of mine workers.
Speaking to Great Dyke News, Chinhema highlighted the disparity between the booming industry profits and the wages of the workers who drive its success.
“The mining industry is doing well, with production levels high and minerals fetching good prices on the international market,” said Chinhema. “However, there is a noticeable gap between what the industry is producing and the living standards of the workers.”
Chinhema pointed out the substantial benefits enjoyed by management, including high salaries, medical aid, school fees, and holiday allowances. These benefits, he noted, come from employment costs, yet the mine workers, who are crucial to the industry’s operations, do not receive comparable compensation.
“We are saying mine workers deserve to earn a living wage,” Chinhema emphasized. He dismissed any notion that mining companies are facing financial challenges, asserting that the industry’s current profitability justifies better wages for workers. “The mining industry is doing well, and mine workers must also live a life commensurate with the industry’s situation,” he added.
Chinhema highlighted the prosperity of those at the top, noting that many in the mining sector are millionaires and that big companies consistently declare profits. He urged that these profits should be shared with the workers, not just retained by individuals at the top.
“We want those profits shared amongst workers also, not by individuals. We want to see workers enjoying the same lives that those business people and mining managers are enjoying today,” Chinhema concluded.
