via Mbada Diamonds to lay off 100 workers. 13 November 2014 by Obey Manayiti
THE country’s leading diamond mining company, Mbada Diamonds, has resolved to lay off more than 100 of its contract workers next month to cut down on its wage bill.
At its peak, the company employed over 1 700 workers, but recent events in the selling of diamonds outside the country have greatly affected its operations.
The firm’s spokesperson Tafadzwa Chiremba confirmed the development yesterday.
“Indeed, the corporate is set not to renew contracts of some employees which are expiring year end. As per labour laws, when a contract of a fixed duration ends, the employer can choose not to renew. Of our staff complement of 1 700, the non-renewal of contracts will affect over 100 employees,” Chiremba said yesterday.
The affected workers have already been given notices that they would not be rehired and the affected employees would be picked from different departments.
Some of the affected workers said they would struggle to make ends meet.
“The company slashed our salaries some time ago and now it’s the issue of contracts not being renewed. How then are we supposed to sustain ourselves under this current economic meltdown?” one disgruntled worker said.
“I think there can be other mechanisms to handle the issue because this was one way in which my family, I being a local villager, would benefit from the diamonds.”
A source in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development said diamond miners were facing challenges due to the depleting alluvial diamonds and the seizure of $45 million in diamond revenue in Antwerp in September.
The money was seized after a South African company, Amari Platinum, won an order against the Zimbabwean government for cancelling a platinum concession in 2010.
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