MAMBA COAL MINERS PAID THEIR RETIREMENT DUES

The Maamba Collieries (MCL) coal mine has started paying off the separation package to the employees that were voluntarily retired in readiness for the new beginning of the mine operations.

 Sinazongwe District Commissioner (DC) Oliver Pelete also thanked the mine management for the prudent manner in which they have handled the issue.

The MCL Chief Executive Officer Kalunga Mumba said at the launch of the payments to the miners today at their offices in Maamba Township that the terminal benefits paid to the employees were temporal because most of them would be recalled once operations were resumed.

Mr. Mumba said the exercise was to be a clean start so that once production resumed the workers would have new conditions of Service under the NAVA Bharat ventures the company that took over the operations of MCL.

He thanked the Union for their cooperation and disclosed that the miners would start getting their money within two days.

 MCL General Manager Alex Mutale said the company had followed all the legal proceeding to ensure that everything was done within the confines of the law and without injuring the beneficiaries.

“The money was long awaited, the miners are anxious to receive it and MCL has also cleared the liabilities that the company was incurring during the period of non-production,” Mr. Mutale said

Sinazongwe DC said the MCL gesture to pay off the employees their separation package was historical because most companies in the past in Zambia had the problem of paying their employees.

Mr. Pelete said the company had taken a good decision because it would not have continued paying salaries to employees when production had not started.

The DC said MCL would create more employment with the construction of the thermal plant and most workers would be recalled back for work.

He urged the miners to make good use of their money which he said most people get at an old age or when they die.

Mr. Pelete disclosed that the MCL has partnered with government  to construct an alternative road from Masuku to Maamba for transporting their equipment in case the Maamba/Batooka road  developed a problem especially in the rain the season.

ZANIS