Kagem concludes union negotiations
KAGEM Mining Limited has successfully concluded negotiations with the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) and the Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia (MUZ) regarding improved conditions of service and salaries for employees.
Kagem is 75 percent owned by Gemfields Limited and 25 percent by the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia.
The company has, in addition to new allowances including an education allowance, agreed to pay a 10 percent salary increase effective 1 April 2018 with a further 10 percent increase effective from 1st January 2019 up to 31 December 2019.
According to a statement issued to the Daily Nation, the agreement allows extensive negotiations between the management and union representatives
Commenting on the development, Kagem General Manager, Prahalad Kumar Singh, said the pay rise was in line with market conditions.
Mr Singh explained that this reflected both low production volumes and a financial loss at Kagem during its 2017 financial year, as well as a more promising outlook going forward.
He said all employees had since returned to work and the mine was operating normally.
“Kagem is pleased to have reached a balanced agreement following a protracted series of negotiations with union representatives. We now look forward to continuing our strategy of growing Kagem into a national champion that the whole country should be proud of.
“The vast majority of our team members are dedicated and hard-working and we thank them sincerely for their ongoing efforts in pursuing our shared objectives,” he said.
Mr Singh also said commensurate improvements in productivity were expected to help boost output and thus increase tax and dividend payments to Government as well as additional support for the community.