At
Xiao
Honguqiu’s
Famona
gold
mine,
three
women
workers
were
compelled
to
undergo
HIV
tests
and
subsequently
dismissed
on
22
December
2025,
regardless
of
the
results,
while
more
than
60
male
colleagues
faced
no
such
requirement.
The
Zimbabwe
Diamond
and
Allied
Minerals
Workers
Union
(ZDAMWU),
an
IndustriALL
Global
Union
affiliate,
condemned
the
practice
as
a
form
of
sexual
harassment
and
gender-based
discrimination.
Zimbabwe’s
Constitution
and
labour
legislation
safeguard
workers’
dignity,
equality
before
the
law
and
protection
from
gender
discrimination.
The
right
to
privacy,
including
the
confidentiality
of
health
information
such
as
HIV
status,
is
similarly
enshrined.
Employers
are
expressly
barred
from
forcing
disclosure
of
HIV
status.
The
2021
Cyber
and
Data
Protection
Act
further
criminalises
unauthorised
disclosure
of
personal
health
data
by
third
parties,
including
online.
The
dismissals
reportedly
followed
information
obtained
from
an
online
platform
that
exposed
one
worker’s
HIV
status.
The
affected
worker
has
filed
a
police
report
at
Nyathi
Police
Station
near
Bulawayo
against
the
individual
responsible
for
the
posting.
ZDAMWU
has
lodged
a
formal
complaint
with
the
Zimbabwe
Gender
Commission,
which
is
now
investigating
the
matter
and
weighing
potential
legal
action
against
the
company.
Justice
Chinhema,
ZDAMWU
general
secretary,
asserted
that
the
union
is
pressing
for
the
reinstatement
of
the
three
women.
“It
is
unacceptable
for
employers
to
subject
women
to
sexual
harassment
and
flout
the
law
with
impunity,”
he
said.
IndustriALL
Sub-Saharan
Africa
regional
secretary
for
Paule-France
Ndessomin,
said:
“We
back
ZDAMWU
in
seeking
justice
for
these
workers.
Chinese
multinational
companies
operating
in
Zimbabwe
and
the
region
must
adhere
to
national
labour
laws
and
international
standards.”
IndustriALL’s
research
under
the
project:
Towards
an
inclusive
and
sustainable
future
for
workers
in
Eastern
and
Southern
Africa
with
the
University
of
the
Witwatersrand’s
Southern
Centre
for
Inequality
Studies
titled
Fighting
back:
Labour
fragmentation
in
and
the
face
of
capital
vis-à-vis
the
Just
Transition
and
eco-socialism
has
confirmed
rampant
sexual
harassment
and
exploitation
on
Chinese-owned
mines
in
Zimbabwe
with
supervisors
preferring
to
hire
“small
Maria”
instead
of
“big
Maria.”
“Chinese
management
in
both
Zambia
and
Zimbabwe
wanted
a
“small
Maria”
–
a
black
female
worker
who
was
small
built.
The
management
used
their
positions
and
fear
of
job
insecurity
to
exert
pressure
and
solicit
sexual
favours
or
rape
women
workers.
Black
women
workers
in
Zimbabwe
who
were
employed
in
the
mining
sector,
barely
faced
victimization
and
harassment,”
exposes
the
research
in
its
findings
which
will
be
published
in
April.
Source:
Chinese-owned
Zimbabwe
mine
dismisses
women
after
forced
HIV
tests
|
IndustriALL