ALLEGED DIVISIONS SPARK TENSE CONFRONTATION AMONG MINE-WORKERS UNIONS

Tensions flared at Kitwe's Garden Court Hotel as eight Mine-Worker Unions found themselves on the brink of a confrontation this morning. The catalyst for the near altercation was an accusation leveled by five unions against the remaining three, alleging hypocrisy and the creation of divisions within the industry.

Following a media briefing led by Kelvin Namunji, the President of the Miners and Allied Workers Union, and four other unions, Joseph Chewe, President of the Mine Workers Union of Zambia, and Saul Simujika, President of the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers, entered the scene to vehemently deny the accusations made during the briefing.

The dispute revolved around the disownment of a recent press statement issued by the three mine-worker unions in question – MUZ, NUMAW, and UMUZ. The accusers claimed that these unions were working in isolation and making misleading comments to the media about Mopani and Konkola Copper Mines-KCM.

As tensions escalated, Levi Chimfwembe, President of the Mine Contractors, Factory, and Allied Workers Union, and MUZ President Joseph Chewe engaged in a heated exchange, going so far as to grab each other's necks and exchange verbal blows.

The five unions that organized the initial press briefing included the Miners & Allied Workers Union, Consolidated Miners and Allied Workers Union of Zambia, and Mine Contractors’ Factory and Allied Workers Union. Additionally, the Mine Industry Union of Contracting Workers and the Miners’ Technicians’ Artisans and Allied Workers Union of Zambia were part of the group that expressed their concerns over the alleged divisions within the mining industry.