Exclusive Interview with the Secretary General of Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union on the status of Workers Rights in 2020

As we conclude the year 2020 and prepare to enter the new year 2021, the Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union (REWU) has highlighted the progress made in the year 2020 despite the challenges that the sector faced since March 2020 due to the outbreak of CoronaVirus which has hit almost all sectors of life across the globe.

In a detailed interview with the Secretary General of REWU, Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre shared with us this year’s highlights from the miners and their employers’ perspectives and highlighted the lessons learnt from COVID 19 and how those lessons can serve as lessons learnt towards the improvement of work and behavior in coming years.

He also highlighted some of the planned projects aimed at improving the well-being of the miners, the rights of the children whose parents are working in the mines and the broader plan that will leave the miners engaged in professionalism without having to be fired due to lack of mining skills.

Below you will find a detailed discussion:

1. Can you start by giving us a general picture of what the year 2020 was like in REWU?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: The year 2020 is a year that has started well and there was hope that the social and economic well-being of the miners and quarry workers will end at an exciting pace.

Campaigns for workers’ rights under the Labor Law were carried out effectively, we encouraged workers and employers to prioritize dialogs between them which had become increasingly popular as it boosted the productivity of the companies and thus helped the union in negotiations to increase the salaries of the workers and that led to the increase in productivity.

But by March 2020 the COVID-19 epidemic hit our country, affecting workers, where some of the miners had lost their jobs.

According to the statistics, by the end of 2019, there were about 100,000 mining workers but by the end of August 2020 they were 67,735.

Between March and August, it was a difficult period, as there was a sharp drop in employees due to COVID 19.

As of February 2020, the number of employees was 66,182, according to the National Institute of Statistics Rwanda; as of March 2020, the number was 56,765, and by April 2020, 8,843 and by May 2020, many workers returned to the job bringing the total number of employees back to work at 41,460.

Overall, 2020 has not been as good for mining workers as they had hoped, but due to the measures taken by the government to develop and meet increased productivity in mining sector following the challenges posed by Covid-19, we are confident that the next year will be better, the productivity will increase and the workers will benefit from the work they will do.

2. Some of the responsibilities of REWU include advocacy on a variety of issues related to the mining and Extractive Industry. Tell us about the nature of complaints you received this year (2020)?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: In total we have received 562 complaints that are divided in 4 categories:

– Some employees were deprived of their salaries in March 2020, because of the payment method where most of them used to receive their salaries in hand. At the time we were in lockdown, Employers could not reach the miners since we were all in lockdown. We advocated in their respective workplace and fortunately they were paid via mobile money;

-There were employees who were suspended due to Covid-19 in violation of the Labor law of Rwanda. We had a discussion with their employers which resulted in a temporary suspension of the employment contract instead of termination, the employees were reinstated at work at the moment;

– There were employees who did not have a written employment contract, after the advocacy made by REWU now they have gotten it;

– Some workers are included in retirement benefits after advocacy conducted by REWU;

3. How have you dealt with the issues raised by the miners in order to find solutions?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: We prioritized the dialogues between the employee and the employer (social dialogue), which enabled us to make the advocacy more successful and each party happy with the outcomes.

When a problem is solved through a dialogue process, there is a good lesson that when the issue is raised again, the employee and the employer sit down and discuss it themselves to find mutual agreement on the issue.

Despite prioritizing the talks, some employers have not been able to agree to the dialogue’s outcomes and REWU has now appealed to the courts where we have 11 cases of workers who have been illegally dismissed.

4. What was the role of REWU’s partners in 2020 despite being a difficult time when they had to deal with the effects of COVID 19 in their respective institutions?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: We are truly grateful to our partners for helping us solve the problems of the miners this year, especially during the lockdown because they have been so close to us that the miners will never forget their role.

Among these partners we would like to mention the Ministry of Public Service and Labor (MIFOTRA), the Rwanda Mines, Gas and Petroleum Board (RMB), the Local Authorities (Provinces and Districts), the National Human Rights Commission (NCHR), Rwanda Mining Association, CESTRAR, World vision, FES – Rwanda and COSOC-GL

5. In recent days you have launched a campaign to protect the child from abuse. How far are you with this campaign?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: Since July 2020, we, along with the World Vision, have been campaigning against child sexual abuse and the use of children in prohibited labor, which is a matter of concern that we urge everyone to fight against for their own sake as it harms the future Generation of the country.

As 2020 draws to a close, we have launched a campaign in collaboration with local authorities, where they have highlighted the current state of affairs in the areas in which we operate. We agreed to join forces to stop any form of child abuse.

Children as well as adults are encouraged to immediately report any violence they have experienced or suspect to the security agencies and other nearby authorities. We are still in this campaign.

6. Coming back to the Miners’ overall well-being, what have you done this year regarding the well-being of workers in this industry? Can you give us a broader picture?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: According to REWU principles, we not only provide them advocacy, but also on social issues, the union has not stopped on them. By 2020 the mining workers through REWU’s “RYAMA NEZA MUCUKUZI” program, 869 were helped to get mattresses of Rwanda Foam, now their families sleep well;

This year also REWU is finalizing preparations for the launch of early next year a new project of putting in place Early Childhood Development Center (ECD Centre) at mining sites and this will contribute to the prevention of child abuse, where by the centres will foster care for the children thus helping women workers not to fail to participate in the mining profession due to lack of children caregivers;

This year, REWU also signed a partnership agreement with MINIFIELD GROUP Ltd, which has experience in training staff on how to conduct professional mining, so that next year various programs are planned to increase the skills of the professionals through this partnership.

7. The whole world is threatened by the COVID 19 pandemic, are there any lessons you have learned from this epidemic that can help fill the gap in 2021?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: We learned a lot, but what I said touched my heart and I encourage everyone to think about it more deeply and then work together to close the gap in the future, including:

1. We should promote a culture of saving. All income earned should be deducted to savings;
2. We need to be active in the use of communication technology, as it has been found that technology solves many problems;
3. Love your job, not despising the work that earns you money together with your families, work hard but don’t forget yourself because the human body is not a machine, it needs to rest;
4. Be characterized by the best choices to know how to do the most important things and do them on time;
5. To prevent and combat the bad habit of wasting. You will find that there are people who waste even what they don’t have.
6. People need to better understand that we are the ones who know what we want to achieve, what we need to achieve, who will help us achieve it (available or unavailable).

Especially keeping in mind that the time to implement dreams / ideas is when you start to think about them, not to wait because when they go into time to wait, they often end up not working;

8. What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced this year that has not been answered?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: It is difficult to answer the question you asked me, but what I would say is about setting a minimum wage in Rwanda.

In the beginning of the year 2020, REWU felt that this year MIFOTRA would have issued a minimum wage directive at different levels. But by the end of 2020 I see it coming to an end like any other previous years, unless we are lucky in the remaining days that the law is announced before the end of the year. That would be a joy for miners in particular as it would address a variety of issues regarding the income among workers.

9. In conclusion, What message for the REWU community and REWU partners?

Eng. Mutsindashyaka Andre: I wish the members of REWU a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2021, and I urge them to be passionate about work and to sustain work ethic, striving to increase productivity, as this will help REWU to continue to achieve its goals through advocacy and social welfare and employee development in this industry.

To the partners of REWU, I also wish them happy celebration of the end of the year festive seasons. I assure that REWU will continue to sustain the partnership and good relations with the institutions they lead.

Thank you