"It's Like The Army': Strict Rules For Workers At Chinese Mining Company In Serbia Spark Backlash" 18 September 2023

Strict new rules enforced at a Chinese-operated mine in eastern Serbia have sparked controversy and pushback in the Balkan country over concerns that the company is violating local labor laws.

According to an internal document from the Chinese firm Jinshan Construction leaked to Serbian media in mid-August, workers at the site are expected to begin each shift by lining up in formation for inspection by their managers and to greet their supervisors in unison.

Employees of Jinshan Construction -- which manages a large copper mine near the eastern town of Majdanpek -- spoke to RFE/RL's Balkan Service and added that these preshift meetings sometimes consist of workers being reprimanded publicly for small infractions and then asked to recite company safety rules...

"We're told to form three lines [to start each shift], it's like the army," a Serbian worker at Jinshan Construction's operation in Majdanpek told RFE/RL under condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from his employer...

News of the stringent rules at the mine has since sparked a backlash in Serbia, with labor groups and unions saying such conditions could be in violation of local laws, such as forcing employees to take an oath and work under hostile conditions. The controversy has also exposed a growing fissure in Serbia between local and Chinese work cultures and a growing public perception that the country's authorities are turning a blind eye to unlawful labor practices by Chinese firms...

Jinshan Construction is a subcontractor that operates the mine on behalf of the Chinese mining giant Zijin, which took control of a money-losing copper smelter in the nearby city of Bor in 2018 and has since opened copper and gold mines across eastern Serbia.

Neither Jinshan Construction nor Zijin responded to RFE/RL's requests for comment, but the companies maintain that they follow local labor practices and uphold high standards for their operations in the country.

In an August 14 press release, Zijin has acknowledged the rules outlined in the document but said that they are not applied at the mining sites that it operates in Serbia. "The rules only apply to the employees of the subcontractor company Jinshan Construction,"...

In response to the public reaction to Jinshan Construction's new rules for employees, the Serbian Labor, Employment, Veteran, and Social Policy Ministry launched an inspection and said the company did not appear to have violated the law. The ministry told RFE/RL that the deputy director of the company explained to its inspector each of the rules outlined in the document that employees were expected to follow. According to Jinshan Construction, the measures concerned "health and safety of its employees" and "raising employee awareness."...

Both Jinshan Construction and Zijin have faced controversies in recent years, especially concerning the treatment of Chinese and other non-Serbian staff.

In 2021, Chinese workers employed by Jinshan Construction told RFE/RL they faced restrictions on their movement and endured threats from managers if they went public about the poor work and living conditions they faced in eastern Serbia, including insufficient sanitation and heating at work camps, along with poor-quality food...

China Labor Watch, a New York-based NGO that advocates for the rights of Chinese workers, told RFE/RL it had received information over the years about a steady stream of labor violations against Chinese workers in Serbia, including the "revocation of passports, nonpayment of wages and overtime, and restrictions on freedom of movement."...