The 2008 Skorpion Zinc Strike was a worker's strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

 against the ownership of the Skorpion Zinc

Skorpion Zinc

Skorpion Zinc is the 8th largest Zinc mine in the world, producing Special High Grade Zinc.Since November 2010 it is owned and operated by Vedanta.Skorpion is located in southwest Namibia, near the town of Rosh Pinah....

 mine near the southern Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n town of Rosh Pinah

Rosh Pinah

Rosh Pinah is a mining town located in southern Namibia, close to the border with South Africa. West of the town lies Diamond Area 1, the main diamond mining area of Namibia. Rosh Pinah belongs to the Oranjemund electoral constituency. The town is connected via road to Aus....

 in Karas Region

Karas Region

The Karas Region is the southernmost region of Namibia. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain range in its southern part...

. Skorpion Zinc is the largest zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

 mine in Africa and the eighth largest in the world. Lasting 19 days (from May 10, 2008, to May 29, 2008), the workers ended their strike when management agreed to a 12% raise in wages plus overtime and travel expenses. The workers had originally demanded a 14% raise in wages. The strike was supported by the Namibia's Mineworkers Union of Namibia

Mineworkers Union of Namibia

Mineworkers Union of Namibia is one of the most powerful of Namibia's trade unions. It plays a leading public role in the Namibian political space and is an ally of the ruling South West Africa People's Organization government.-Strikes:...

, who accused Skorpion Zinc of practising racial discrimination and of negotiating in bad faith.

Effects

The strike only marginally affected outputs, as only a day's worth of production was lost during the 19 day strike.

External links

• Skorpion Zinc turns to court to deal with strike in The Namibian
  The Namibian
  The Namibian is a the largest daily newspaper in Namibia. It publishes in English and Oshiwambo.-History:It was established by Gwen Lister in 1985 as a weekly newspaper reliant on support of donors, which aimed to promote Namibian independence from South Africa. Its first edition appeared on 30...
  
  , 19 May 2008