The management at the embattled Sino-Congolese mining company Sicomines reached out to local labor activists for a dialogue about the working conditions at the Chinese-run joint venture.
They got an earful last week, particularly from labor advocate Don Israël Hubert Mbuyi who did not mince words in his condemnation of the company and its labor policies. “The president promised us a middle class,” he said, pointing his finger at the Chinese managers in attendance, “but that will never happen for anyone who works at Sicomines because you know and we know that you don’t treat your workers well.”