Monday, August 6, 2012

Labor In The 21st Century

Exemplified by Chinese investment in Africa.
Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another on Saturday in a pay dispute at the Collum coal mine, labour minister Fackson Shamenda said on Sunday.

Chinese companies have invested more than $1bn in Zambia's copper industry, but animosity towards them is growing as Zambian workers accuse firms of abuses and underpaying.

Workers at Collum, 325km (200 miles) south of the capital, Lusaka, attacked Chinese bosses, demanding wage rises in line with those stipulated by the government last month.

[...]

"We are yet to establish the exact circumstances, but the report I have is that one Chinese was killed and another injured as the workers demanded the new minimum wage," said Shamenda.

Two years ago, Zambian police charged two Chinese supervisors at Collum with attempted murder following the shooting of 13 miners in a pay dispute.

China, which is hungry for resources, is investing heavily in Africa, a supplier of oil and raw materials such as copper and uranium, but critics have warned that its companies are importing their poor track record on workers' rights.
Wake up Americans: You're next.

5 comments:

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another on Saturday in a pay dispute at the Collum coal mine, labour minister Fackson Shamenda said on Sunday.

N00bs, an American firm would have had a cadre of mercenaries around to gun down the miners.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Wake up Americans: You're next.

If only there was some movement that opposed exploitation of the proletariat by capital...
~

Weird Dave said...

I'm afraid it's going to end only after the guillotines get cranked up again, and even then only for as little while and not necessarily for the better.

Substance McGravitas said...

Should saying "darned communists" make me snicker?

M. Bouffant said...

That Darned Commie Editor:
Pinkertons!!! Class war!! Great Leap Forward!!