Zambian police promise to beef up security after labor dispute turns violent

The alleged killer of the Chinese coal-mine supervisor in Zambia has been charged, and Zambian police have promised to beef up security for Chinese citizens in the southern African country.

Information from the Chinese embassy in Zambia says that a Chinese supervisor of the Collum coal mine was killed and four other personnel were injured on Sunday in labor clashes at a coal mine in Zambia's Southern Province.

The clashes occurred during a labor dispute at the Chinese-owned Collum Coal Mining Industries Ltd in the province's Sinazongwe district.

Reuters quoted a local police official on Tuesday as saying that a coal miner has been charged with murder in connection with the killing of the Chinese supervisor.

"We have charged one person with murder and 11 others with rioting and theft. They will appear in court tomorrow," Southern Province police chief Fred Mutondo said.

Three other suspects are still at large.

The Chinese ambassador to Zambia, Zhou Yuxiao, on Tuesday met with Zambian Inspector General of Police Stella Libongani, and he lodged concern to the Zambian police about the case which has had a "terrible influence".

Zhou called for concrete measures to protect the safety and the legitimate rights of the Chinese business community in Zambia and to create an enabling environment for foreign investments.

Collum Coal Mine, a private business that run by Chinese investors from Jiangxi province located about 325 km south of Lusaka, has an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of coal.

Zambia's government recently increased the monthly minimum wage for certain workers from 500,000 Zambian kwacha ($105) to 1 million Zambian kwacha.

The Beijing News said the local labor union on Aug 2 reached an agreement with the coal mine to tweak the Zambian employees' wage, but the labor union reportedly did not immediately deliver the message to the workers.

He Wenping, director of the African Studies Section at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the local labor unions in African countries are influential and are good at bargaining with employers.

"Working conditions and wages are major factors behind the relevant disputes, and some staff members of the Chinese firms in Africa have not communicated enough with local people," He said.

The director urged Chinese firms to get along well with local employees when seeking safety for their personnel and property.

Recent years have seen labor disputes more often between Chinese firms and local employees in Africa. In October 2010, another clash occurred at the same mine, in which a dozen local workers were injured.

During a visit to a Chinese company in Zambia on Aug 3, the ambassador required the employer to treat employees well from both China and Zambia and boost "internal harmony and stability".

China is Zambia's fourth-largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of $2.85 billion in 2010.

The expansion of Chinese investment boosted the development of the country's infrastructure and created more jobs for locals.

Contact the writer at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn