Confusion about the new minimum wage law and tensions between workers and management lie behind the death of a Chinese mining boss in August
The killing of Wu Shenzai on 4 August and the wounding of his two compatriots by Zambian mine workers demanding the implementation of the newly revised minimum wage were widely condemned throughout Zambia. Wu, a 50-year-old manager at Collum Coal Mine, died after mine workers crushed him with a trolley as he tried to flee underground to escape a wage riot in one of the most dramatic clashes yet between Chinese managers and their local employees. Mine workers had organised a protest at what they saw as delays by Collum in adopting a new revised minimum wage. In fact, the new law, which came into force on 4 July, applies only to domestic, shop and general workers. Union members are not affected as their pay is negotiated by collective bargaining with employers.
Despite the travails in Zambia's relations with China and fears that changes in mining regulation and taxation would scare off Asian companies, the flow of investment continues. Of...
China’s interests in Côte d’Ivoire are growing and, for now, the focus is on infrastructure in a country recovering from ten years of political crisis
As soon as he touched down at Abidjan's Felix Houphouët-Boigny airport on his return from the 19-20 July fifth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, President Alassane Dram...
