The Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) has raised concerns over potential job losses and income insecurity following the Government of Zimbabwe’s decision to immediately suspend the export of raw minerals and lithium concentrates.
While acknowledging the policy’s intention to promote local beneficiation and industrialisation, the union cautioned that abrupt implementation without adequate consultation could negatively affect mine workers and their families.
“We are concerned about the potential impact of sudden policy shifts on mine workers’ jobs, incomes and working conditions,” said ZDAMWU General Secretary Justice Chinhema “The noble goal of increasing local value addition must not be achieved at the expense of mine workers and their families.”
The government’s move is designed to accelerate in-country value addition in line with the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), a continental framework aimed at leveraging mineral resources for economic transformation and sustainable development. However, ZDAMWU stressed that implementation must prioritise worker protection and social dialogue.
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The union called on the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to adopt what it described as a more inclusive and consultative approach, ensuring trade unions are actively involved in determining transition measures, timelines and compliance mechanisms.
“In practical terms, this means structured social dialogue with trade unions on implementation modalities, clear timelines and transition measures, and binding safeguards to prevent job losses or unpaid lay-offs,” Chinhema said.
ZDAMWU also emphasised that any new processing or beneficiation plants established under the new export framework must be unionised and fully compliant with labour, occupational safety, health and environmental regulations. The union insisted that human rights due diligence standards, guided by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, should be mandatory across the critical minerals value chain.
The union argued that while Zimbabwe’s shift away from exporting unprocessed minerals is strategically sound, its success will depend on whether it results in secure and decent jobs, improved wages, skills development and stronger protections for workers in mining communities.
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