Maputo, Feb. 12, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozal, Mozambique's largest industry, will proceed with collective redundancies as part of the suspension of activities in March, according to a communication sent to the smelting company's union committee, which directly employs more than 1,000 workers.
According to the document sent this month to the union committee and made public, the issue at stake is the ‘collective redundancy consultation process’ and the respective compensation package, in the context of the dispute over the supply of energy to the smelter, located in Maputo and one of the largest in Africa, which will suspend operations on 15 March.
In the document, Mozal proposes compensating 6% of the annual salary for each year of service for those earning more than seven times the sector's minimum wage, and 40 days' salary for each year of service for the rest.
It also proposes the payment of a professional retraining allowance of 110,000 meticais (€1,450), the maintenance of the health insurance plan for six months after the termination of the contract, and a performance bonus for the 2026 financial year, which ends in March, calculated as 100% of performance.
Among other compensation, Mozal plans to pay pregnant workers six months' basic salary.
Australia's South32 today said that it will suspend operations at the Mozal aluminium smelter within a month, despite attempts by the government to resolve the dispute over energy tariffs.
"It will move to maintenance and conservation mode in March 2026 due to the inability to guarantee a sufficient and affordable supply of electricity. We are working closely with our employees and partners on this transition," said Graham Kerr, chief executive of South32, Mozal's main shareholder, after presenting the group's results, considering this decision to be final and one that has already led to an impairment of $372 million (€313 million).
Mozambican Energy Minister Estêvão Pale said this week that Mozambique's government is trying to avoid suspending the operations of Mozal, one of Africa's largest smelters, which employs more than 4,000 direct and indirect workers on the outskirts of Maputo.
"There are discussions on the matter. The government is doing everything necessary to ensure that the factory does not go into maintenance," said Estêvão Pale, when questioned by journalists.
South32's management announced in December in a statement that Mozal will suspend operations and go into maintenance from 15 March 2026, in the absence of a new electricity supply agreement.
South32 said it was in talks with the government, Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric (HCB) and South African energy company Eskom to ensure the supply of ‘sufficient and affordable electricity’ until the suspension in March, when the current energy supply agreement expires.
It added that the cost of maintenance, including contract termination, is around $60 million (€51 million), and the ongoing annual maintenance and conservation costs are around $5 million (€4.2 million).
Mozal purchases almost half of the energy produced in Mozambique, mainly by HCB, and has an estimated weight of at least 3% of GDP.
On 18 August, the president of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, said that the energy tariffs proposed by Mozal would lead to the collapse of HCB, reacting at the time to the threat of closure.
Electricity is supplied to Mozal by Eskom, which in turn buys energy from HCB, accounting for 66% of total production in 2024, but the government intends to reverse this scenario. Lusa reported in February 2024 that the government intends to repatriate, from 2030 onwards, for domestic use, the electricity it has been exporting from HCB to South Africa since 1979, as stated in the Energy Transition Strategy.
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
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