Chililabombwe Member of Parliament Richard Musukwa has said he rejected the proposal by Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to outsource its key units in Chililabombwe.
Mr Musukwa said that he is not the only one against outsourcing but all KCM employees have not accepted the outsourcing and labour transfer.
He said the idea of outsourcing is to offload the employees on the street which as the area MP, he refused and still retaliate his position.
“Why should KCM’s failure to grow production be the problem of employees. The idea of using employees as relief valve is not good. Recently KCM was telling us of the 50-year plan at Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP) but is outsourcing part of the 50-year plan?
“Let KCM buy spares and machinery then let us see if production will fail to grow. I have been a unionist in the mines and I understand a lie and truth. The smarter war for KCM was to find an equitable partner to pump in fresh idea and money to focus on primary development which unearths copper,” he said.
He said reports reaching him were that some Chinese nationals are beating up Zambians at the places of work.
Mr Musukwa who is the ruling PF Parliamentary Chief Whip said beating employees becomes a battle between the mine and the state.
He implored the workers to put in their best in order to grow production so that KCM doesn’t have lame excuse.
The MP said that its only increased production that would salvage the mine from collapsing.
But KCM Chief Executive Officer Steve Din in his last Op-Ed which appeared in The Independent Observer of October Edition he outlined the positives for outsourcing.
Mr Din said KCM had introduced new business partners into the supply chain in order to grow production.
“These partners have been selected based on their proven ability to innovate across multiple dimensions of the mining value chain. They will introduce new technologies and new pieces of mobile equipment to help our employees improve productivity in 2018.
“Outsourcing certain specialised activities to business partners or contractors is the model we have selected to drive growth and enhance productivity at KCM. It will result in new ways of working and the transfer of new skills to KCM staff over time. There will be no loss of jobs as a consequence of this,” he said.
He said the KCM outsourcing partnership-driven model was attractive and championed at Coca-Cola for more than a century.
Mr Din said since the 1880s, Coke’s business model had been structured on outsourcing.
“The Coca-Cola Company sells concentrates, beverage bases and syrups to bottling partners who then manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute branded beverages to vending partners, who in turn sell them to consumers.
“On the supply side, Coke has never owned a sugar plantation but instead outsources the task to partners who provide the sugar the Company needs to make the concentrate it sells. This outsourcing model has enabled Coca-Cola to become an undisputed world leader in marketing, while the company’s partners focus on meeting the demand which the Company’s marketing creates,” he said.
