The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) employees have reportedly downed tools, declaring incapacitation and vowing not to go to work until their grievances are met.
The workers have since October last year been engaging in bargaining negotiations will the local authority ranging from the cost-of-living adjustment and the payment of 2020 bonuses, with council management at one point declaring they will be able to pay bonuses in April this year.
The local authority had also claimed they could not deliberate on salary related matters until the approval of the 2020 supplementary budget.
However, in the latest developments, council workers as of Wednesday downed tools arguing that they were hungry, frustrated and depressed as they could not survive by the salaries they were getting.
“Colleagues in the workers struggle BCC employees are hungry, frustrated and depressed and are unable to fend for themselves and their families due to poor wages/salaries and as such workers will not come to work as from 13 January 2021 due to incapacitation till their demands of improving their renumeration are addressed.
“The supplementary budget has since been approved by the central government but the employer representatives shocked all BCC employees at a PNC negotiating platform held on 11 Januray by offering zero percent increment in response to union position submitted three months back. Workers are tired of walking to and from work and have run out of walking energy,” reads a communique from the Zimbabwe Urban Councils Workers Union (ZUCWU — Bulawayo branch) chairperson, Mr Ambrose Sibindi.
