Byo joins workers carnage

26 Jul, 2015 - 00:07 0 Views
Byo joins workers carnage Godfrey Chidyausiku

The Sunday News

AT least 10 companies either headquartered or with branches in Bulawayo have joined the job cuts frenzy that has gripped the nation after a Supreme Court ruling that gave firms the power to terminate contracts of employment upon issuing three months’ notice without offering an explanation or following the retrenchment route, it has been learnt.

Although the number of affected workers could not be immediately tallied investigations revealed that some of the companies that have issued letters of termination of employment to their employees include Monarch, Rodor Properties and many companies that are affiliates of Econet Zimbabwe.

Some of the Econet Zimbabwe subsidiaries that have retrenched include Ecocash, Econet, TN Harlequin and TN Asset Management. This is in addition to such other companies as Farm and City and Meikles.

About 6 000 workers have been fired countrywide following the ruling although industry sources are still not keen to give a breakdown city by city.

However, any job cuts in Bulawayo were likely to bring further misery to the city which has already seen more than 20 000 losing their jobs in the past few years following the closure of nearly 100 firms in the former industrial hub.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Institute of People Management of Zimbabwe annual convention held in Victoria Falls on Thursday, labour experts said the prevailing situation was an expression of emotions from both parties — the employers and the employees.

“Companies are struggling due to the macro economic challenges and this has been seen through various company closures, employers have been carrying along an excess of workers they do not need mainly because they could not afford the severance packages required when it comes to retrenchments.

While we do not condone what is happening, this situation had reached boiling point and what we are seeing now is just the overflow of emotions and frustrations,” said one labour expert who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The expert said it was imperative to share costs and expenses because that was what the current environment demanded.

IPMZ president Mr Marshall Pemhiwa while appealing for calm within the country regarding the landmark ruling said the action by the employers was more of a symptom of bigger issues affecting them.

“Employers have been waiting for a long time for the flexibility of contracts of employment. When you talk retrenchment, any investor coming into this country would want to know their exit cost at a time when they are in trouble.

“Most of the companies that have rushed to implement using this particular case are companies that for a long time have been trying to lose weight but realised that in the current set up it would be extremely difficult for them. Now the Zuva case came, people are taking advantage of that,” said Mr Pemhiwa.

He said a happy medium reasonable to both parties was needed as the IPMZ was not happy with seeing people walking empty handed.

“Employers are literally crying for an exit cost that is reasonable while at the same time employees are crying for fairness should you terminate employment and that is the happy medium we need to come up with,” he said.

He said it was important in the new labour law to bring in things that would conclusively decide this particular matter, giving an example of South Africa where the country’s laws define two weeks for every year served as the minimum.

Mr Pemhiwa said such a definitive stance would also assist investors who at a time of winding down operations can contend with a particular time frame as stated by the law as well as protect the weaker party which is the employees.

“That way people will not take advantage of the Zuva case,” he said.

Speaking of the massive job losses, Mr Pemhiwa said productivity in the country was likely to go down as a direct result of companies laying off workers.

Different experts predicted that companies were likely to face retaliation from the remaining workforce following the manner in which others were disengaged.

“There is no way that you can be a hatchet man in an organisation and cut off many heads in the manner that others have done and expect that the ones that remain will give you high productivity.”

ZCTU secretary general Mr Japhet Moyo said the dismissals were more of victimisation than genuine restructuring exercises thus turning workplaces into nightmares.

The acting Principal Director in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Mrs Grace Maramba said a long term solution was required and that government was working on the issue.

“We need to consider the interests of both employers and employees and we are working on it and busy consulting different stakeholders. Through the Zuva case we have all learnt a lot,” she said.

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