It is the président du BSP who is supposed to be present in this office to receive eventual employees facing a problem at the work floor. It is also the place where the shop stewards or délégués hold their weekly reunions.
The pictured BSP of Groupe Ouest (as they refer to Kolwezi’s department of Gécamines here) is no longer in use today, it has moved to one of the company’s buildings in the city centre, somewhat distant from the company management’s offices. Besides Gécamines, the surroundings of Kolwezi are dotted with private mining companies from all over the world. These companies too, sometimes provide a room to install the BSP, and this can be a space right in the sphere of the DRH. At MUMI, for instance, the BSP and the office of the DRH are situated close to each other in the very same disassemblable building, enabling a daily meet and greet. This BSP however, is a 10 minutes bus ride away from the work floor, making it less accessible to workers themselves. Other companies chose the opposite positioning, setting up offices amid the workers, and quite distant from the management, not allowing daily interaction. Still other companies do not offer an office at all, but allow the unionists to make use of a meeting room for their weekly reunions.
Unions have their offices outside the companies too, their headquarters so to speak, where the permanent is supposed to be found. At least, since recently, they should have such offices, but in Kolwezi this turns out a little bit complicated. Not long ago, the city was promoted to provincial capital, after the cutting up of the Katanga province in four smaller ones. Unions usually have their headquarters at the former provincial capital, Lubumbashi, but up until today, not in Kolwezi. The provincial governor, however, demanded the provincial union head, l’intersyndicaliste provincial as he is called here, to urge the unions to set up offices in the new capital, as it suits the novel statute of the city. This is rather problematic for most unions though, since renting an office is an extra expense they could do without. Still, offices have been installed, some since ages, some since recently. The union CSC, for instance, has its office at a main road, with a clear and visible sign displayed at the front, hard to miss. UNTC has a fine office too, but it is somehow hidden, you’ll need to be taken by someone who knows the place to find it. And CTP’s office is closed since 5 years, as the permanent is ill. And so further. It does not really buzz inside these offices either, workers can simply call the permanent to make an appointment if they wish, and most often they contact the délégué present at the work floor to expose their problem. So not much happens at the offices. And many unions simply do not have one as yet.
When I’m interviewing unionists, consequently, we usually meet in bars or restaurants, sometimes at my place, too. Among the union representatives, opinions on the usefulness of such an office, are many. It is better to have such a place, one unionist states, because of the sensible topics that unionists usually address. Despite the financial drawback the rental causes, “il faut avoir un point de chute,” another one adds, a place to withdraw to and discuss, to open up debate in private. A safe place, as well. According to a third unionist, offices help to enhance the visibility and accessibility of the unions, so it is a good thing to have one. A manager of a company that has recently and hesitantly allowed union presence at its premises, acknowledges the importance of visibility. While he was going around town to choose which unions would be invited, the ones who have an office appeared to him “plus fiable,” more reliable. That a manager choses the unions who will defend the rights of the workers at its company, is an unusual practice, but that’s another story.
Some do not agree though, and see no need for a place. “Ah,” a unionist said, “what’s the use of an office? The unions, they’re all in my notebook, and that’s enough!” Members come to his home to discuss work related problems, and he gladly welcomes them. And whenever he needs to discuss some union matters with peers, he just invites them to a bar and they proceed while enjoying a beer.