The management at country’s largest zinc mine had this week brought in security agents and employed casual workers as a blanket strike for wage increases by miners entered the fifth day. “There are policemen everywhere and the workers are afraid,” Michaeleno Kadhikwa, Skorpion Zinc’s branch chairperson of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), told the Economist on Wednesday. “This has been a peaceful strike, but the police are just here to provoke us.”

He said the country’s labour commission sanctioned the strike and the presence of the security forces was meant to squash the workers’ rights to industrial action.
On Monday this week, management at Skorpion Zinc mine also dealt the miners, who have been on strike since last week Friday, a major blow when it brought in casual workers to ensure that the mine continues to produce. This move nearly resulted in the strike being called off, according to Kadhikwa.
We nearly went home empty. We are trying by all means to stop the casual workers from doing our jobs – the reason why management says it had to bring in the police,” he said.
The union is holding out for a 14 percent pay increase, well above inflation of 8.4 percent, as well as housing, transport and overtime allowances, while the mine, owned by Anglo Base Metals has offered a 10 percent across the board increment minus the allowances.
The workers also want the mine to address what they call discriminatory tendencies of having two salary structures for black and white workers
“The strike will continue until all our demands are met,” vowed Kadhikwa.
The modern open pit mine, which accounts for 25 percent of Namibia’s power consumption, produces 150 000 tons of special high-grade zinc destined for the Asian, European and North American markets.
But the strike, coupled to the earthquake in China, has lent support to world zinc prices. Benchmark zinc was traded at around US$2 340 on the London Metal Exchange-the highest since mid April- at the time of going to press.