The Sunday News
Lungile Tshuma Sunday News Correspondent
NATIONAL Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) employees in Bulawayo yesterday held a demonstration demanding that management pays their 15 months’ salary arrears that have risen to $55 million.Addressing disgruntled employees at the NRZ premises, Railway Artisan Union secretary general Mrs Sithokozile Siwela challenged the board to address their plight as employees were living in poverty.
“We want our money. We cannot continue getting half salaries. The management is busy sending their children to expensive schools while we are not getting our salaries and let alone our children are not going to school,” said Mrs Siwela.
“The management is not grateful. Some workers left the country but we remained and we are still working hard but they are not thanking us for that. They must stop approaching the court all the time when we have disputes. This is the time for them to give us what belongs to us. It’s workers and their safety first not the court first as they always do.”
She also said employees welcomed the new board but called for the appointment of a new management team, as management had failed.
Speaking after the demonstration, vice president of the Railways Engineers Union Mr Juneil Manyere lambasted the management system for retaining retired directors.
Said Mr Manyere: “Those who are supposed to retire should do so. What is it that these directors want to do and or want from the company when it’s failing to pay its workers?
“For the past years, we have not lost any manager whom we can cry for or wish him or her to come back. We have lost qualified engineers and artisans and these are the people whom we can say they must come back.”
Mrs Siwela revealed that lowest paid employees were getting $173 with highest grade earning $650.
Employees demonstrated while carrying banners which were written “a malfunctioning NRZ — a missing link to ZimAsset”, “Do you trust unpaid and starving workers to move the nation”, and “Retired directors should go home”.
NRZ public relations manager Mr Fanuel Masikati said the company was working hard to pay employees their salaries.
“We admit that we owe employees millions of dollars and the company is doing everything possible to address the issue,” he said. “As for retaining retired managers, there are areas that we look at where we will need experience and skills that are necessary for the survival of the organisation.”
One of the employees who took part in the demonstration said employees were no longer getting loans from banks and were also not buying goods on hire purchase.
“We are not accessing loans and companies are also not allowing us to pay for goods on hire purchase because they know that we will not pay in time, if not paying at all because of our employers,” said Mr Farai Musiyarira, who joined the railways in 1999.
“The company owes me $18 450. Some are owed less and some even more depending on the grade and the number of years one has been in the company. We want the company to pay us our money.”
