Trust Rukwava
Centre News Hub
Harare- As the curtain closed down for a boisterous year 2025, the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) offered its reflection on a year of profound struggles and unyielding resilience among mine workers who fuel Zimbabwe’s mining powerhouse describing it as horrible and volatile to workers’ rights and welfare.
The Union, in a statement to mark the end of 2025, said despite their tireless labour, driving national economic growth, mine workers faced systemic exploitation, hazardous conditions, and policies that eroded their dignity last year.
ZDAMWU, Secretary General, Justice Chinhema said they honour the sacrifices of mine workers and boldly chart a path forward under their rallying theme: Building Union Power, Strengthening Workers’ Voices in Solidarity, and Advancing Justice.
“In 2025 mine workers confronted a cascade of hardships that turned prosperity into peril to inflation-ravaged wages, already meager, crumbled under relentless economic pressures, leaving families unable to afford basics like food, healthcare, and education. Over taxation compounded this misery, devouring what little remained of low salaries, pushing thousands into debts” said Chinhema.
The Union also bemoaned job insecurity which loomed large, because of rampant casualisation of labour where workers are signing short fixed term contacts, some retrenchments, and month’s long salary arrears at operations like Rio Zim operations, Anjin, and other mines.
Fatal accidents and injuries plagued unsafe workplaces, where inadequate safety gear, poor ventilation, and lack of oversight claimed countless lives particularly in small scale operations and in big mines ventilation challenges caused chronic health issues like silicosis and respiratory diseases.
Safety and health in the mining sector remain dire, with absent medical insurance for majority mine workers, exposure to toxic chemicals, and no comprehensive occupational health programmes exacerbating worker suffering.
“Retired workers, and those retiring who dedicated decades to the industry, faced a lot of challenges including victimisation and harassment, lack of a decent pension benefit, and respect, their loyalty repaid with eviction threats and lack of alternative decent homes” added Chinhema.
2025 was marked by strikes which broke out as workers downed tools in desperation in some mines across the country exposing gross unfair labour practices perpetrated against workers.
Despite mining’s billions in exports, workers reaped poverty, embodying a stark betrayal of their contributions.
ZDAMWU also welcomed the overwhelming statement by the incoming Minister of Mines Polite Kambamura who indicated a commitment to consult all stakeholders in shaping the sector’s future.
This pledge offers a glimmer of hope, as workers hope the Minister will ensure mine workers are not sidelined but given a meaningful chance to be involved.
Chinhema also said the Union has bold plans for 2026.
“Building Union Power Entering 2026, ZDAMWU ignited an accelerated membership recruitment drive to swell our ranks, making us the indispensable voice for every mine worker in Zimbabwe, including retirees. We aim to unite fragmented forces, transforming isolation into collective might. Central to our agenda are serious reforms in the National Employment Council” said Chinhema.
ZDAMWU wishes to see the creation of sub-sectors within the NEC through targeted amendments to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), enabling engagements or bargaining at subsector level for more favourable outcomes.
The Union said it will advocate for the alignment of collective bargaining agreements with current labour laws, and mechanisms to curb over-taxation that strips workers bare. Job security will be non-negotiable: ending casualisation, enforcing permanent contracts, and mandating severance protections against arbitrary layoffs.
ZDAMWU said it will forge alliances across unions, and in the region to amplify advocacy for robust safety and health policies or legislation including mandatory PPE, regular inclusive inspections, on-site clinics, and compensation for occupational diseases and launch anti-corruption campaigns exposing exploitative practices.
The Union said it aims to protect retired workers through enforced anti-harassment protocols, and benefit safeguards.
Its 2026 agenda includes prioritizing human rights due diligence across mining operations to uphold international standards and prevent abuses while committing to deeper engagement with mining communities, building a strong, unified voice that amplifies local concerns alongside worker rights.
ZDAMWU acknowledged the statement from the Chinese Embassy on the urgent need to end all reported and unconfirmed instances of rampant abuses of mine workers by Chinese employers in Zimbabwe. This call for industrial harmony aligns with the Union’s vision which urges immediate action to investigate, address, and eliminate such practices for fair workplaces.
“Justice demands accountability. We call on government, including the new Mines Minister, to make sure worker-friendly policies on safety, health, and retiree rights are enacted and that laws are made to make sure employers honour fair pay and safety; as well as that authorities investigate wage theft, fatalities, and retiree victimisation. No more tolerance for a system where miners’ blood oils the economy while they starve, or veterans are discarded” said Chinhema.
Chinhema said as 2025 came to a close all mine workers celebrate the gift of life amidst the trials and ended the year with hope in their hearts, praying for a brighter future in the industry where every worker earns a living wage that restores dignity and security.
