The Banro Corporation intersyndical denounced the employer’s violation of article 57 of the Labour Code. This is justified by the fact that it unilaterally decreed the « force majeure » and « suspended all contracts of workers from Namoya Mining, Banro Mining, Lugwisha and Kamituga Mining » in place of the Labour Inspector.

« We consider that since the conditions required by law for force majeure to be retained are not met, there is no justification for the employer to notify it and to draw the legal consequences« , wrote Banro’s intersyndical to the Inspector General of Labour, Employment and Social Security on 27 September 2019.

In the same letter, the Banro trade unionists say they are bewildered to note that the reasons given by the employer do not demonstrate in any way how Lugwisha Mining, Kamituga Mining and Banro Mining Congo would be affected by a security incident in Salamabila.

It is up to them to specify: » legally, the above-mentioned entities are distinct from Namoya Ming SA in that they each have their own legal personality. They are also geographically very distant from each other.  »

In fact, the agents unfortunately note that the Chief Executive Officer, Brett Richards, the Directors General and all expatriate staff are already out of the country, leaving them without dedicated interlocutors.

Hence, concerns about the unilateral suspension of jobs and the problem of final employee accounts amounting to nearly US$6 million. In addition, suppliers, contractors and/or subcontractors owe Banro millions of US dollars.

« We believe that if the employer would like to stop operations at Namoya Mining SA and in the entities of Lugwisha Mining SA, Kamituga Mining SA and banro Congo Mining SA, it would be better to make this clear by respecting, consequently, the rights of the employees of these entities, » the intersyndical recommends to the Inspector General of Labour.

#RDC Le président du @senatrdc, Thambwe Mwamba trouve INACCEPTABLE que de milliers de personnes se retrouvent, du coup, sans ressources du fait de la suspension d'activités par #Banro à #Kabambare. Il appelle à une solution concertée entre parties prenantes | via @Zoom_eco pic.twitter.com/o2Qp9UO6b1

— Zoom Eco (@Zoom_eco) October 6, 2019

The intersyndical reserves the right to use all legal means to request the seizure of the property and equipment of all Banro Group companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to ensure that the rights of workers, some of whom have more than 15 years’ seniority, are respected.

The Council of Ministers on Friday, October 4, 2019 noted the exasperation of the population of Maniema following the suspension of the activities of the Canadian mining company Banro. If nothing more has been said about this, there are calls for the Government to ensure that this matter is carefully considered and that any procedure to be considered complies with the laws of the Republic.

Emilie MBOYO