Speaking
during
the
union’s
annual
national
council
meeting
held
in
Bulawayo
over
the
weekend,
ZDAMWU
General
Secretary
Justice
Chinhema
said
many
mine
workers
are
operating
without
health
insurance
despite
being
exposed
to
hazardous
working
conditions.
“Mine
workers
do
not
have
insurance
yet
most
of
them
are
sick,”
“We
have
seen
employers
pushing
workers
to
take
up
funeral
policies
without
necessarily
providing
health
care
cover.
That
must
be
addressed
through
proper
health
insurance
schemes
supported
by
the
salaries
workers
earn,”
said
Chinhema.
He
said
ensuring
health
insurance
coverage
for
miners
is
part
of
the
union’s
broader
2026
strategic
pillars
which
focus
on
worker
welfare,
community
engagement
and
advocacy.
He
said
the
union
plans
to
expand
its
role
beyond
workplace
representation
to
include
working
closely
with
community
leaders
and
civil
society
organizations
to
promote
safe
and
sustainable
mining
practices.
“As
a
union,
one
of
our
pillars
for
2026
speaks
about
community
engagement
and
community
advocacy.
We
will
be
focusing
on
working
with
community
leaders
and
civil
society
organizations
on
safe
mining
and
standard
mining
practices,”
he
said.
ZDAMWU
intends
to
collaborate
with
organizations
such
as
the
Centre
for
Natural
Resources
Governance
(CNRG),
Zimbabwe
Environmental
Law
Association
(ZELA)
and
other
relevant
government
ministries
including
the
Ministry
of
Mines.
Chinhema
emphasized
the
need
for
mining
companies
to
rehabilitate
their
operations
once
extraction
activities
cease.
“We
need
to
engage
mining
companies
to
rehabilitate
their
mining
operations
so
that
when
they
leave,
they
do
not
leave
gullies
and
environmental
degradation
behind.
“If
an
employer
deliberately
leaves
environmental
damage,
there
must
be
a
remedy,”
suggested
the
ZDAMWU
General
Secretary.
The
union
also
wants
to
play
a
more
active
role
in
occupational
safety
and
health
matters.
Chinhema
said
while
many
companies
have
safety
departments,
trade
unions
have
often
been
sidelined
in
advocacy
and
monitoring.
“Our
coming
in
as
a
union
means
we
must
be
at
the
forefront
and
be
involved
in
safety,
health
insurance
and
health
care
issues,”
he
said.
He
added
that
employers
must
comply
with
established
safety
and
health
standards,
including
periodic
medical
check-ups
and
testing
for
diseases
commonly
associated
with
mining
activities.
The
union
also
plans
to
engage
regulatory
bodies
such
as
the
National
Social
Security
Authority
(NSSA),
Ministry
of
Health,
Ministry
of
Energy
as
well
as
the
Ministry
of
Mines
to
ensure
enforcement
of
safety
regulations.
“Where
safety
is
not
prevalent,
what
is
the
remedy?
We
are
there
to
push
for
that
remedy
as
an
organization.
We
want
to
ensure
that
compensation
happens
where
necessary
and
that
preventive
measures
are
put
in
place,”
Chinhema
added.
ZDAMWU
said
it
will
also
intensify
advocacy
efforts
to
ensure
mining
companies
are
held
accountable
for
worker
welfare
and
environmental
protection
as
part
of
its
expanded
mandate
to
safeguard
both
miners
and
the
communities
in
which
they
operate.
This
call
for
stronger
enforcement
and
rehabilitation
measures
follows
renewed
concerns
about
the
dangers
posed
by
abandoned
and
poorly
managed
mining
or
quarry
sites.
Over
the
past
weekend
in
Bulawayo, two
11-year-old
girls
drowned
while
swimming
with
friends
in
a
disused
water-filled
pit
in
Pumula
North,
in
an
incident
confirmed
by
police
that
has
spotlighted
the
risks
of
open
pits
left
in
residential
and
peri-urban
areas.
The
pit,
which
filled
with
rainwater
was
among
abandoned
excavation
holes
that
have
become
deadly
traps
for
children
and
others
in
the
community.
Across
Zimbabwe,
similar
hazards
have
underscored
the
human
and
environmental
cost
of
poorly
rehabilitated
mining
sites.
In
Shurugwi
and
other
districts,
villagers
have
recounted
how
abandoned
pits
from
chrome
and
other
mineral
extraction
have
claimed
lives
and
livestock
over
the
years
because
they
were
neither
reclaimed
nor
properly
fenced
off
once
operations
ceased.
Elsewhere,
communities
in
the
Umzingwane
Dam
area
of
Matabeleland
South
have
decried abandoned
mining
pits
allegedly
left
by
Chinese-linked
operations which
have
turned
once-safe
grazing
and
watering
areas
into
“death
traps”
for
livestock,
forcing
local
residents
to
repeatedly
recover
trapped
cattle.