A mining firm in Zambia has fired 115 workers and banned 331 contractors for testing positive for alcohol during a mandatory breath test, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.

Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) said it was saddened that the company was recording an increased number of employees testing positive for alcohol.
“The number of workers testing positive for alcohol has sadly increased markedly from August 18, 2014 to date. So far, 115 employees have tested positive for alcohol in the 1 milligram percentage and above category. Unfortunately, this means that 115 Mopani employees have since been dismissed from employment along with the 331 contractors have been banned from taking up employment on any Mopani property for next three years,” Anton Bester, the company’s security manager was quoted as saying by the paper.
The official expressed sadness that despite the company’s zero tolerance policy being widely advertised through its safe mining campaigns, a number of employees and contractors were still reporting for work drunk.
Under the company’s zero tolerance policy to alcohol and drugs, any person who tests positive for alcohol at the workplace is promptly dealt with under its disciplinary and grievance procedure.