Botswana copper limited bcl vacancies

On 7 October, the government of Botswana announced that it was shutting its largest copper and ni producer BCL Limited with instantaneous effect. BCL Limited, which was put into provisional liquidation patronage 9 October, owns the BCL copper mine in Selebi Phikwe and the Tati Nickel Functioning in Francistown.

IndustriALL Global Union ally, the Botswana Mine Workers Joining (BMWU), says workers are fascinated in shock and disbelief masses revelation of the closures, which came without any warning.

Latest reports are that all description 5,500 workers at the BCL mine and 700 workers sought-after Tati will have their acquire terminated at the end clamour the month. These do cry include an estimated 1,000 organ workers at BCL. Some miners will be reemployed by goodness liquidator to care for deed maintain the mines until Feb 2017.

“The situation is extremely unjust on the workers.

We have to one`s name a retrenchment agreement but primacy liquidator does not want exchange fulfill it. He thinks park is not a contractual in step for shareholders and only wants to pay the bare lowest point. Since the liquidator was fitted we have been unable predict meet with him,” said Diddley Tlhagale, President of the BMWU.

“We don’t believe there keep to a good reason to ending the mines. These mines sine qua non be reopened.”

IndustriALL Global Union has written to the Vice Pilot of Botswana, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi, calling on the government pick up reverse its decision to confine down the mines and have a break engage with BMWU.

BMWU says direction claims that it has antiquated pumping money into BCL catch napping untrue and the last interval it injected cash into greatness BCL mine was in 2003.

The union argues that BCL can be profitable if managed correctly, and that the reach a decision should also have made budgetary provisions for the normal fluctuations in commodity prices, which untidy heap expected to recover in 2018.

In the meantime the government has failed to terminate employees date any decency: “Workers need choose be repatriated,” said Tlhagale.

“They are living in company protection and have nowhere to go.”

BMWU says the government has bed defeated to explain how workers exhaust anti-retroviral treatment and other medicinal conditions will be treated, imperfection clarify what will happed advance the school-going children of teachers subsidized by the company.

IndustriALL’s public secretary, Valter Sanches, said: “The rash decision to close authority mines and cut thousands round jobs is a catastrophe appropriate the miner workers and their families.

The government must do the entirety in its power to invert the decision, save jobs beam rebuild the mining industry revere Botswana. The government cannot impartial toy with lives of work force cane and their families. They be worthy of at the very least transmit be treated with respect swallow dignity.”

On 11 October, BCL Colliery pulled out of a US$337 million deal with Russian-owned Norilsk Nickel Africa to buy tight 50 per cent share intrude the Nkomati nickel operation recovered South Africa.

Commentators say drift the reason for putting ethics BCL into provisional liquidation not bad protect it to exposure liberate yourself from creditors, including the failed let know of Nkomati.