KCM ready to work with its employees
KONKOLA Copper Mines (KCM) endeavors to work with all its employees as well as specialised partners to ensure that its planned 400, 000 tonnes copper production target is reached in line with the company’s growth strategy, KCM General Manager, Corporate Affairs Eugene Chungu has said.
And Mr Chungu said that KCM had opted to work with partners because it was a more ideal model to grow production, especially given the current copper prices on the world market that the company and nation as a whole could benefit from at this stage. He explained that most of the partners had wanted to come with their own workforce, and that KCM proposed that they utilise the already existent workers. Mr Chungu said that the mining giant opted to work with top tier companies for partners as they were already well networked with suppliers of equipment and had more readily available machinery to help accelerate the company’s goal to increase production to 400, 000 tonnes.Mr. Chungu maintained that no one would lose a job as a result of working with partners and they would comply with both government and KCM standards. “We have a plan to grow copper production to 400, 000 per annum in the next few years. We especially want to do this at a time when we are enjoying good copper prices. “Copper prices on London Metal Exchange have for the last few months been above $6,700 per tonne. So we want to get to higher levels of production at a time when we are enjoying these prices, and working with partners is a sure model of helping us to achieve this.” Mr Chungu said the alternative would be to start ordering equipment, which then need to be manufactured and shipped, and so the lead time is very long and thus unattractive at this stage. The option we have taken is a more beneficial one for not just KCM, but the country as a whole,” he said. Mr. Chungu assured that jobs for all employees who would be seconded to the partners would be safeguarded and that even in an event that the contractor was done away with, the workers would continue getting their wages from KCM. He said that the company would however only work with Top tier contractors, who would still be compelled to operate within both government and KCM set standards. Mr Chungu warned that no contractor found abusing or mistreating employees would be condoned. He said that management was aware of the fears of unions and the Zambian people, but promised that the mining company would ensure that all systems were kept in check.