via 4,000 retrenched as firms shut down 13 October 2014
A TOTAL of 4,172 people lost jobs between January and September, confirming a worsening economic crisis that has seen several businesses shutting down, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has said.
ZCTU secretary general Japhet Moyo told The Source on Friday that the figures were conservative as some companies did not process their lay-offs through the Retrenchment Board, which provides the data.
“Figures from the Retrenchment Board reveal that 4,172 workers have lost their jobs as at September 2014. The numbers could be more as some unions don’t give us that information as frequently as we would want,” said Moyo.
He added that the frenzy of job cuts recorded at the start of the year had slowed down as many firms could not cut any further.
Moyo said most of the job cuts had been recorded in the security, engineering, clothing and textile, timber and allied industries, mining, packaging, motor industry and printing sectors.
Analysts say Zimbabwe’s worsening unemployment is due to lack of fresh investment coming into the economy to upgrade plants that can no longer produce competitively in the face of increased imports, mainly from South Africa and China.
The country’s official unemployment figures of around 11 percent, which the authorities say take into account a burgeoning informal economy, are widely scoffed at by independent economists who put the figure above 80 percent.
According to central bank statistics, Zimbabwe drew in $67 million in foreign direct investment in the first half of 2014, down from $165 million over the same period of 2013, a far cry from what its regional peers are attracting.
Critics blame President Robert Mugabe’s policies, such as his seizure of white-owned farms to resettle blacks, as well as his current push to localise control of all major companies, especially mines, for Zimbabwe’s poor showing in the FDI stakes.
The central bank says, on a cumulative basis between 1980 and 2013, Zimbabwe has received $1,7 billion in FDI flows, compared with $7,7 billion and $15,8 billion for Zambia and Mozambique, respectively.
COMMENTS
ITS A PITY IF THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE LABOUR BODY IS SAYING COMPANIES ARE RETRENCHING,HE MUST FIRST ADMIT ALSO THAT IN ZCTU THEY STARTED RETRENCHING WORKERS LONG BACK IN 2012 AND WORKERS ARE GOING MONTHS WITHOUT PAY YET THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE CHAMPIONING WORKERS’ RIGHTS BUT THEY ARE WORST EMPLOYERS,PARTICULARLY WITH THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP,THEY HAVE TOTALLY FAILED THE WORKERS OF ZIMBABWE AND THEIR STAFF. STAFF AT ZCTU HAVE GONE YEARS WITHOUT SALARY INCREMENT AND THEY ARE NOT EARNING PDL LINKED WAGES AS THEY PREACH. JAPHET MOYO AND HIS TEAM ARE ENJOYING WHILE HIS STAFF ARE STARVING. HYPOCRITES !!!!!!!!!. ( HURUNGWE )
Iwe Robhati, ma 2 million jobs dziripii?
Why are we such donkeys to put up with these fools called zpf?
Because they have all the guns !
“There is no crisis in Zimbabwe” – Thabo Mbeki
Only Zimbabweans know there is a crisis – (me)
Sadly the true figure is much much more frighteningly higher. A legacy of your idiotic stupid votes in 1980
Get what you sowed next time wake up if you have a second chance but I see a 100 percent vote for Gucci lips phd even if every single Zimbabwean voted. Such is the corruption and rigging in Zimbabwe.
You lot were warned about the concequences of the land and indigenisation policies and ignored them.When you do this in a agric based country there will be a price and sadly there is no easy way out.
Where are the 2.2million jobs promised by our esteemed Leader President Robert Gabriel Mugabe
Give us all a chance and that means all Zimbabweans of all creeds, colours etc a chance to take ownership of our country. At the present time we are all being stifled by ZanuPf only. How are we to move forward if this is to continue. Get in the program ZANU or else . Another failed state. Africa’s legacy caused by incompetent greedy faction leaders not concerned about anyone else but themselves.