{"id":73983,"date":"2023-02-12T17:07:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T15:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chinese-steel-plant-accused-of-exploiting-zimbabwean-workers"},"modified":"2023-02-12T19:31:51","modified_gmt":"2023-02-12T17:31:51","slug":"chinese-steel-plant-accused-of-exploiting-zimbabwean-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chinese-steel-plant-accused-of-exploiting-zimbabwean-workers","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Steel Plant Accused Of Exploiting Zimbabwean Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Zimbabwean workers building the US$1 billion steel plant for the Chinese-owned Dinson Iron & Steel Company (Disco) claim they are being exploited.<\/p>\n

Disco is a subsidiary of China\u2019s largest stainless steel manufacturer, Tsingshan Holdings.<\/p>\n

The workers told The Sunday Times<\/b> that they are being forced to work in inhumane conditions and are not given off days.<\/p>\n

The steel plant which is touted to become Africa\u2019s largest steel plant is located in Manhize, Mvuma, about 192 kilometres south of Harare.<\/p>\n

Production is set to start in August this year and the plant is expected to manufacture more than 1.2 million tonnes of steel a year.<\/p>\n

A 35-year-old construction worker who spoke to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity said:<\/p>\n

Nothing good is coming out of the steel plant; we live like animals. Eight workers sleep in one tiny room.<\/p>\n

We have no basic sanitation. Sewage overflows at the plant because of blocked plumbing.<\/p>\n

We defecate in the bush because they are no working toilets at the plant.<\/p>\n

The sewage overflow is next to the kitchen where the food for workers is prepared.<\/p>\n

We are not allowed to cook our own food. The food we are given by the company is badly prepared \u2014 we are given sadza with beans or sadza with cabbage.<\/p>\n

The food looks disgusting \u2014 we eat because we are hungry.<\/p>\n

We are paid $4 a day and the money comes as half in local currency and another half in US dollars.<\/p>\n

l work for 30 days, with no off day \u2014 l have no free time to even visit my loved ones.<\/p>\n

We are not given any off days; you have to work for 30 days. Recently, l got an off day because l lied that my relative had passed away.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very difficult place to work, but we work because we are desperate for money and to provide for our families.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unfortunate that our Chinese colleagues don\u2019t see us as human beings but as animals. It\u2019s inhumane.<\/p>\n

Another worker, who is 32, claimed they are paid US$$4 a day, working for 30 days straight with no weekends off. Said the worker:<\/p>\n

We are paid $4 a day and the money comes as half in local currency and half in US dollars.<\/p>\n

l work for 30 days, with no off day \u2014 l have no free time to even visit my loved ones.<\/p>\n

Another worker said they work overtime but are not paid for it and the company doesn\u2019t give them payslips. He said:<\/p>\n

I also work overtime from 5 pm until 10 pm but l am never paid for the overtime. We are not given payslips to see how many hours we have worked.<\/p>\n

If we raise concerns, we are ignored. If you keep complaining, eventually you lose your job. With the money l earn I am not able to send rent money or buy groceries for my family.<\/p>\n

We once went on strike demanding better pay but the company called the police on us and we were forced back to work.<\/p>\n

Quitting is not an option as l am desperate for work to be able to feed my family.<\/p>\n

More than 800 workers are employed at the Manhize plant, with most of them living on the site.<\/p>\n

The Zimbabwe Construction & Allied Trades Workers\u2019 Union (ZCATWU), which is affiliated with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said it tried to organise workers there but management denied them access.<\/p>\n

However, in a statement, Dinson Iron & Steel Company denied the allegations, saying they are \u201ccontinued attempts at smearing and undermining the good work of the investors\u201d.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean workers building the US$1 billion steel plant for the Chinese-owned Dinson Iron & Steel Company (Disco) claim they are being exploited. Disco is a subsidiary of China\u2019s largest stainless steel manufacturer, Tsingshan Holdings. The workers told The Sunday Times that they are being forced to work in inhumane conditions and are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":73982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1493,2189,13908,7348,10180,10179,5551,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-73983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-chinese-owned-dinson-iron-steel-company","12":"tag-dinson-iron-and-steel-company-dinson","13":"tag-dinson-iron-and-steel-company-disco","14":"tag-manhize","15":"tag-tsingshan-holdings","16":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nChinese Steel Plant Accused Of Exploiting Zimbabwean Workers - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zimbabwean workers building the US$1 billion steel plant for the Chinese-owned Dinson Iron & Steel Company (Disco) c ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chinese-steel-plant-accused-of-exploiting-zimbabwean-workers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese Steel Plant Accused Of Exploiting Zimbabwean Workers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Zimbabwean workers building the US$1 billion steel plant for the Chinese-owned Dinson Iron & Steel Company (Disco) c ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chinese-steel-plant-accused-of-exploiting-zimbabwean-workers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-12T15:07:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-12T17:31:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2023\/02\/postQueueImg_1676209105.67.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"328\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chinese-steel-plant-accused-of-exploiting-zimbabwean-workers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chinese-steel-plant-accused-of-exploiting-zimbabwean-workers\",\"name\":\"Chinese Steel Plant Accused Of Exploiting Zimbabwean Workers - 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