Statistics from Zimbabwe Diamond Workers Union reveal that employees at Mbada Diamonds, Jinan Mining Company and Anjin Investment are the latest casualties. ZIDAWU president Cosmas Sunguro revealed that hundreds of workers have been laid off by the three miners in the first quarter of this year.
“More than 450 workers were rendered unemployed by end of January 2015 by Mbada company,” he said. There is an on-going vigil at the former mining giant’s headquarters in Harare as workers are reportedly demanding their retrenchment packages, which Mbada promised would be settled by its new investor.
“At Jinan all workers had their contracts terminated on 28 February 2015, over 67 workers failed to renew while some were returned on short term contracts. The company is targeting to have less than 250 workers by end of April 2015,” he said. “Anjin has downsized to less than 200 workers.”
Zanu (PF) promised to create 2,2 million jobs once voted into power at the July 2013 polls. But it is almost two years without any sign of employment creation.
More job losses are expected in the Marange diamond fields as the miners had not invested in kimberlitic and conglomerate diamond mining, which is very expensive. The firms are struggling to remain operational as the alluvial gems can no longer sustain their operations.
The 2014 budget had projected diamond output to increase following the lifting of targeted measures against the Zimbabwe Mining Diamond Corporation by the European Union. However, the sector’s production went on to plunge owing to operational challenges faced by the firms.
Post published in: Business