Located on Lusanga Avenue in the commune of Dilala in the DRC, the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) is the scene of a sit-in. For a month, dozens of ex-agents of the GCM (Gécamines) have been forced to sleep under the stars, in search of a payment that they have been waiting for more than 17 years. This pitiful scene testifies to a very failing system and a standoff between the KCC and the GCM.
As night falls, more than a hundred ex-CMG officers, who have been transferred to KCC, gather with boxes and sheets for shelter. To compensate these pensioners, the KCC and the GCM must respect the agreements agreed in 2006. However, these companies mutually reject the responsibility to pay the wages of the pensioners. This incident highlights the need for strict regulation and worker protection.
The sit-in outside the KCC Dilala offices has been in place for a long time and doesn’t seem set to end anytime soon. However, delegations from the workers’ unions and GCM officials visited the scene to talk with the pensioners. But to date, no resolution agreement has been reached. Pensioners say they will not give up the fight until their situation is resolved.
This situation shows a flaw in the system in the treatment of workers’ wages. Trade unions must organize to protect workers and guarantee their right to a fair wage. Between the robbery of the company, the injustice in terms of wages, and the legal vagueness, it is time to rethink a fairer work system