Congo gives mines month to release confined workers
The Democratic Republic of Congo has given copper and cobalt
mining companies a month to stop confining workers on site away from their
families to stop the spread of coronavirus, the labour minister said in an open
letter.
Workers have been told by managers to either stay and work
or lose their jobs, civil society organisations said last month, citing miners
and union representatives and demanding an end to the practice.
"All mining companies that have confined workers to the
operating site are granted a one-month moratorium to return to normal
operation," Labour Minister Nene Ilunga Nkula said in the letter, dated
July 13, which she shared on Twitter on Tuesday.
Mining companies must provide healthcare for workers and
their families, as well as decent housing and a healthy diet for confined
workers, Nkula said.
Companies mining in Congo's southern copper belt include
Glencore <GLEN.L> subsidiary Katanga Mining <KAT.TO>, China
Molybdenum's <603993.SS> Tenke Fungurume, MMG <1208.HK>, and
Chemaf, while Ivanhoe <IVN.TO> is developing two copper mines there.
Six workers at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) mine
in Lualaba province tested positive for the coronavirus, KCC said a week ago.
Companies in Lualaba have a month from July 2 to prepare
sanitation measures and release all workers confined for more than a month. In
Haut-Katanga the period runs from July 6, the letter said.
Congo is Africa's top producer of copper and the world's
main source of cobalt, accounting for two-thirds of global supplies of the
metal used in smartphones and electric car batteries.
Mines minister Willy Kitobo Samsoni has warned that full
mine shutdowns would trigger a "catastrophic" economic and social
crisis in the country, with the industry contributing 32% of its GDP and 95% of
export revenue in 2018.
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