Tanzania-Zambia Railway suspends services due to strike by unpaid workers
Lusaka — The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) has suspended all train services, including the transportation of copper, following a strike by workers in Africa’s second-largest producer of the metal, the company said on Wednesday. The line is an important route for copper exports from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Africa’s top producer, but the firm transporting the metal struggles to pay its workers, prompting strikes. Tazara spokesperson Conrad Simuchile said train services between Zambia and Tanzania were suspended indefinitely after unionised employees in Zambia went on strike, demanding payment of their unpaid salaries for October and November 2017. "In the past few months, we have been transporting at least 7,000 tonnes of copper exports from DRC and Zambia per month," Simuchile told Reuters. "In addition, we have been conveying at least 3,000 tonnes of steel and 10,000 tonnes of fertiliser imports destined for Zambia every month." In the 2015–16...
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