A paralização das minas de carvão de Moatize e o seu impacto, 1982-2003

Abstract

The present work, entitled "The Stoppage of the Moatize Coal Mines and its Impact 1982-2003", aims to understand, mainly, the effects on the workers affected by the rationalisation of the workforce that occurred in Carbomoc, following the financial crisis it had been facing since 1982. The Moatize coal mines, located in the town of Moatize, in the province of Tete, started to be systematically exploited from the second decade of the 20th century by the "Société des Charbonnages de Moatize". XX, through the "Société Minière et Geologique du Zambeze", producing an average of 10.000 ton/year. At the end of the 1940s, this Belgian group transferred its rights to Companhia Carbonífera de Moçambique, which was formed by Portuguese and South African interests. Since then, the production of this mineral has gained momentum with the construction of two major infrastructures which have boosted the development of the activity: the railway line linking Moatize to the port of Beira and the railway bridge over the Zambezi river. With the independence of Mozambique in 1975, a series of factors, including political and technical-economic, contributed to the progressive deterioration of the mining structure, culminating in the stagnation of coal mining in the following years. It was within this context that in 1978 Companhia Carbonífera de Moçambique was nationalised and replaced by Empresa Nacional de Carvão de Moçambique, E.E. - Carbomoc, as from May 1978, by decree-law no. 11/78 of 11 May 1978. 11/78 of 11 May. From 1978 to 1981, the trend was a recovery of the coal production indices previously achieved. However, from 1982 onwards, this trend was reversed when the entire Mozambican rail and port system became one of the main targets of the destabilization campaigned by South Africa and carried out by Renamo. The current Sena Line, which was part of the system and the main route for the transport of coal to the port of Beira, was attacked and completely paralysed from 1984. As a result, coal production experienced a further "slide", causing an economic and financial crisis for Carbomoc. In response to this crisis, the company opted in 1990 to rationalise its workforce, culminating in the laying-off of just over 1,000 workers in 2003. The impact of this process was not uniform on all the workers concerned, a situation caused by the difference in academic and professional qualifications. Some of those who were disengaged managed with some ease to re-employ themselves, locally and in other parts of the province and the country, while others remained unemployed and faced difficulties in ensuring for themselves and their dependents the minimum and desirable conditions for their subsistence and well-being (TRADUÇAO NOSSA)