There has been furore over disturbing viral pictures on social media of inhuman ablution facilities allegedly taken at Arcadia Lithium Mine in Goromonzi, placing under the spotlight labor practices of mining corporates.
Arcadia holds one of the biggest hard-rock lithium reserves in the world and is run by Prospect Resources through a local subsidiary Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) employing over 800 workers on short-term fixed-term contracts. The company also has 3 sub-contractors employing over 700 workers.
Prospect Resources operates under the China-listed Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co Ltd conglomerate that is engaged in research relating to, the development and manufacture of lithium battery materials.
Prospect is a global supplier of cobalt and is headquartered in the Tongxiang Economic Development Zone of Zhejiang in China, with a market value of US$100 billion and ranks among the top 500 enterprises in China.
A recently published report supported by the Information for Development Trust (IDT), a non-profit media outfit supporting in-depth reporting in a project focusing on foreign investments, confirms these reports.
A snap survey by the Weekly has revealed a trend of rampant labor rights violations by mining investors including by state-owned entities, as worker representatives call for routine compliance enforcement and monitoring by the government.
Zimbabwe Allied Diamond Workers Union (ZIDAMWU) secretary general said Justice Chinhema states that labor violations have become rampant in the mining sector with some corporations disallowing trade unionism.
“At some mining companies workers are not even allowed to participate in workers committees, mere membership attracts instant dismissal and that is a grey area we need to address.
“The current situation in the Lithium Mining Sector is so sad, if not addressed urgently. We are facing another wave of colonization, slavery, and cheap or free labor.
“Women and men who are working for all the mentioned companies above are working below standard and are facing multiple challenges that must be addressed in the short term and long-term timeframes,” said Chinhema.
Zimbabwe Diamond Workers Union (ZIDAWU) president Cosmas Sunguro also reports that similar sanitation challenges have also surfaced at the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) mine in the diamond fields of Chiadzwa.
ZIDAWU in a report stated that ZCDC and Anjin said the firm has failed to construct decent housing and proper sanitation facilities leading to workers engaging in open defecation.
“Mineworkers and security guards have now taken to open defecation at a nearby mountain, compounding the health risks posed by the longstanding sewer blockage outflow in front of worker houses.
“So prevalent is the habit of open defection that human waste is visible even close to primary school and community monitors have raised alarm with ZCDC management over the sewer burst recorded on 20 July 2023 with no action from company officials,” reads part of the report.
Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) director Farai Maguwu lays the blame at the feet of enforcing agents of the government that are failing to hold to account foreign investors at the expense of labor.
Expressing dismay over the substandard ablution facilities on micro blogging site X (formerly Twitter) Maguwu said investors have been left scot-free by the government to dehumanize local labour.
“If you think the Chinese are the problem you are badly mistaken. Try and locate the role of your political leadership in this. Who gives the Chinese power to dehumanize our people in their own country,” he said.
To protect workers’ rights, recommendations are that the ongoing amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act should set out the sanitation and hygiene standards for mining site ablution facilities in line with international standards.