The large influx of Chinese investors in Ghana’s large-scale mining sector has sparked concerns from the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU). The union says the development is disturbing given the track record of Chinese investors in various sectors.
The influence of the Chinese in the country’s large-scale sector is significantly increasing which hitherto was different. The latest development includes the acquisition of the Newmont Akyem Mines by Zijin Mining Company, a Chinese mining giant. The newly commissioned mine in Talensi in the Upper East Region is also operated by Shandong Gold Group, another Chinese company.
The Mine Workers believe the development is a cause for worry justifying that investors from the East and more specifically China have a total disregard for the rights and welfare of workers.
Speaking in an interview with The High Street Journal, the General Secretary of the Union, Abdul-Moomin Gbana maintained that the Chinese investors are only interested in the returns on their investments to the detriment of employees.
He continues that they have total disregard for the freedoms, health, and collective bargaining of employees while they compromise standards in their operations.
“We are deeply concerned about investment, particularly from the east and I will be unapologetic about it. The Chinese in particular have a very bad and a very poor record when it comes to the promotion and protection of employees. Chinese employers have a very bad record when it comes to the respect for workers’ rights; whether it is the right to freedom of association, whether it is the right to collective bargaining, whether it is the right to health and safety at the workplace,” Mr. Gbana narrated.
He continued that, “these are fundamental rights and guarantees in our constitution and in the labour act which, unfortunately, these Chinese investors do not really have time for. In fact, they will compromise all these standards just so that they can increase their returns on their investments. So it’s a real worry for us as a union operating in the extractive sector.”
With the growing influence of investors from the East in the extractive sector, the Union says these concerns have been made known to the appointing authorities. However, with globalization and international practices, they also appreciate that the country cannot discriminate against these Chinese investors.
The workers are therefore calling on the government and the regulators to ensure that these investors uphold and maintain the standards in the industry while also ensuring that workers’ rights and liberties are not abused but safeguarded.
“We have raised these matters with powers that be. You cannot discriminate. All things being equal we have all become global citizens. You cannot discriminate against any particular group of people. But you can hold them strictly accountable for their actions and inactions particularly if those actions and inactions frown on your laws,” the Union leader noted.
He added that, “we continuously demand, not just of government but also these Chinese people to respect the laws of this country and comply with the standards that protect the rights of workers. As a union we won’t take matters into our own hands, we will rather raise these matters seriously with the authorities, in this case, our government.”
