Chinese Companies In Zimbabwe Accused Of Worker Abuse In US Human Rights Report

US report alleges abuse of workers by Chinese-owned companies

The United States Department of State’s 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Zimbabwe has raised alarm over reported abuse of workers by some Chinese-owned enterprises in the country.

The report, released in August 2024, cites cases of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as unsafe working conditions and unfair labour practices. It names both parastatal and privately-owned companies run by People’s Republic of China (PRC) citizens as being implicated.

In one of the most disturbing cases, the report says two PRC nationals were deported in July 2024 after allegedly abusing mine workers in Bindura.

“The country deported two PRC nationals accused of abusing two mine workers by hanging them from a front-end loader at Makanga Mine in Bindura,” the report stated.

The workers survived the ordeal, but rights groups have condemned what they call a “pattern” of impunity for labour law violations by some Chinese firms.

Unsafe conditions and unpaid wages

The US report accuses some Chinese companies of ignoring health and safety regulations, failing to pay agreed wages, and dismissing workers without following the law.

“Abuses by management… included unsafe working conditions, underpayment or nonpayment of wages, unfair dismissals, and failure to abide by collective bargaining agreements,” the report reads.

A September 2024 report by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance was also quoted, saying that many Chinese mining firms were “violating labour laws, often with apparent impunity.”

The Zimbabwean Ministry of Public Service and Labour is responsible for enforcing work and safety standards, but the US report says enforcement is weak, especially in farming and domestic sectors.

“Penalties for violations… were not commensurate with penalties for comparable offences. Penalties were sometimes applied against violators,” the report noted.

Widespread informal labour

The report also highlights Zimbabwe’s high rate of informal employment, with 88% of workers outside formal contracts as of July 2023. Many are in agriculture, trading, and small-scale mining – sectors where abuses are harder to monitor.

The Zimbabwe Miners Federation estimates that about 500,000 people work in artisanal mining, but only 40,000 are officially registered.

Authorities have occasionally clashed with informal vendors and miners, sometimes leading to the confiscation of goods and arrests.

The US Department of State concludes that the government “did not take credible steps to identify and punish officials” involved in human rights abuses, and that there were “significant restrictions” on workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining.