WORKERS AT CHINESE MINE DOWN TOOLS

Zambian miners at Chinese-owned Sino Metals copper plant in the Copperbelt went on strike Friday as a wave of wage demands continues to spread at Chinese-owned mines in Africa's top copper miner.

General secretary of the National Union of Miners and Allied Workers, Goodwell Kaluba has said telephone that hundreds of miners at the copper plant downed tools Friday.

This is amid growing impatience with the Chinese-owned enterprises in the country following last month's election victory of President Michael Sata, a strong critic of Chinese investments in Zambia.

The strikes are spreading, and the miners don't want to listen to their union leaders," he said. Output at Chinese-owned Chambishi Copper Mine has been disrupted since Wednesday following a miners' strike.

The miners are demanding a 100 per cent wage increment, bringing them into line with counterparts at other mines such as Vedanta Resources PLC's Konkola Copper Mines and Glencore International AG.

Chambishi is operated by Chinese-owned NCFA Mining, a unit of China Nonferrous Metals Corp., which also operates the 150,000 tons-a-year Chambishi Copper Smelter and the Luanshya Copper Mines.

But union officials say Chinese-owned mines pay the lowest wages in the country.

Meanwhile, labour minister, Fackson Shamenda says government would start talks with mining companies over the simmering labor disputes as the country's newly elected leader continues to act on campaign promises of improved conditions of service.