Strike at Moatize coal mine: Vulcan Mozambique says it’s open to dialogue – Notícias

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Strike at Moatize coal mine: Vulcan Mozambique says it’s open to dialogue – Notícias

12:35 CAT | 18 May 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Noticias]

Vulcan Mozambique, the company that has acquired the assets of Vale at the coal mine in Moatize, Tete province, says that it is open to dialogue in an effort to find an answer to workers’ concerns.

In a note of clarification made public yesterday, the company confirms the partial stoppage, since the night of the 11th of May, of operations by a group of workers in the extraction section at the Moatize coal mine.

Vulcan adds that it has spoken with the workers in question in order to understand their concerns.

“After the dialogue, the company, together with the provincial Directorate of Labour, guaranteed that it will respond to the claims by the 20th of May,” the company statement reads.

Vulcan Mozambique recognizes that the stoppage of activities has affected normal production, although it was unable to stipulate any losses in financial terms.

In its note, the company highlights its “objective of guaranteeing the continuity of coal operations in the country, based on a strong commitment to its values, giving priority to people, communities and investing in the safeguarding of all employees, their respective families and civil society in general”.

The mine workers are on partial strike because they do not agree to being handed over to the new employer through what they describe as a “trespass”.

Notícias has learned from the strikers that they want Vale to compensate them for their length of service, and for the new employer, Vulcan Mozambique, to hire them if it is interested in doing so.

“Vale must terminate the agreement [labour contract] it has with us and compensate us, and we can then decide whether or not we want to work with the new boss,” one of the workers explained.

Another source linked to the company clarified that rejecting the’trespass’ is a dangerous contractual move for the worker, because some workers have been with the [previous] company for several years and, in the event of dismissal, the new employer may not recognize that period of service.

Brazilian mining company Vale recently concluded the sale of assets in the exploration of coal in the Moatize mines to India’s Vulcan Minerals, in a deal worth US$270 million.

Source: Noticias