The Sunday News
Shepias Dube
THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority has laid off more than 200 workers who had attained 55 years and above in a move that worker representatives have described as inhumane and illegal.
Zinwa is a parastatal and according to Government policy workers are retired at 60 years when they were employed after 1996 while those who were employed before are retired at 65 years.
In an interview on Thursday, Zinwa Workers’ Union national chairman Mr Zuze Parakasingwa said the retrenchment was unilateral as workers were not consulted.
“Our management has unilaterally decided to force 219 workers to go on retirement. As workers representatives we are totally against this illegal move and we have since written to Vice-President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa expressing our disappointment over the way the parastatal is treating its workers,” he said.
Mr Parakasingwa said management had not yet unveiled a package or any form of remuneration for the affected workers who last received salaries in
January.
He accused management of operating nicodemously and disregarding the interests and wellbeing of workers most of whom had dedicated more than half of their life for the good of the company.
“Zinwa management has this unscrupulous tendency of doing things behind the workers. What we know as the retirement age for Zinwa employees is 60 years and 65 years for those who joined the parastatal from the mother ministry. We don’t know where and how they come up with the 55 years they are now talking,” he said.
He said it could have been better if management had at least engaged workers to discuss the retrenchment exercise.
However, the company said there was nothing wrong with the decision.
Zinwa spokesperson Ms Majorie Munyonga said the decision taken by management was in line with the company’s conditions of service.
“We advise that the authority’s conditions of service allow the employer to give a member of staff notice to retire upon attaining the age of 55 before reaching normal retirement date.
“As such, we advise that the exercise of early retirement of Zinwa employees was and is in accordance with the conditions of service of employees. The process is being done within the confines of these conditions hence there are no legal challenges faced,” she said.
She could not be drawn into revealing if the company had enough funds for the exercise.
“Please note that the exercise is still under consideration and a detailed statement with the information requested can only be issued when completed,” Ms Munyonga said.
However, Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions president Mr Joseph Chinotimba said it was irresponsible for companies to retrench when they had no money to compensate affected workers.
“Zinwa is setting a wrong precedent and as workers we will not stand aloof to such gross denigration and violation of workers’ rights. We call upon the relevant minister to come in and protect the interests of workers from a corrupt management,” he said.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary general Mr Japhet Moyo said he understood the financial woes confronting the parastatal but he disagreed with Zinwa’s ill-advised way of taking short cuts on issues seriously affecting workers.
He urged employers to first understand what the law provides before acting to avoid controversial decisions on what is otherwise a noble idea.
“Zinwa’s intentions may look good but they fall short on the procedures, what they did was un-procedural and illegal,” he said.
Mr Moyo said Zinwa should have engaged representatives of the workers and negotiated the criteria used for retrenchment.
However, he said it was possible for a company to retrench without offering a package if it proved beyond doubt that it was unable to raise any money.
“The law does not provide for a quantum, the law says you should negotiate and it’s wrong for the employer to shun dialogue with workers. However, I cannot rule out workers going home empty handed if the employer can prove his case,” the ZCTU secretary general said.
Zinwa has been struggling to pay its workers in time since 2012 and the parastatal owes workers more than $5 million which accrued over last year.
The company is yet to pay workers the February and March salaries which prompted workers to take job action early last month.
Management has since taken 89 implicated workers to the Labour Court for allegedly embarking on an illegal strike and they face dismissal if found guilty.
