via Masimirembwa fails to pay workers – The Standard by Phyllis Mbanje October 13, 2013
EMBATTLED ex-Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) boss, Godwills Masimirembwa is mired in a labour dispute after it emerged that he is failing to pay his workers at Zimbabwe Institute of Legal Studies (Zils).
According to sources, workers have gone for over a year without being paid, and some were allegedly retrenched without any benefits.
The workers alleged that last month they only received 6kg of rice instead of their salaries.
“He [Masimirembwa] is saying there is no money but people are suffering. He shouldn’t fire them if he cannot compensate them,” said the source.
Most of the workers at the institute said they were afraid to speak fearing victimisation.
“Some workers are owed in excess of US$20 000, and those who were retrenched did not get any severance packages,” said another source who added that some of the retrenched employees had approached the labour court seeking reprieve.
“A couple of the retrenched workers have since approached the labour court for redress ,” said the source.
Morale at the institute was said to have hit rock bottom as the employees pondered their fate.
The said dispute arose when the Zimbabwe Law Society (LSZ), which is a regulatory body of the legal profession, refused to recognise Zils and its diploma certificates.
However, Masimirembwa alleged that the issue was a personal and political one.
“The attack was on me personnally, and there was a political agenda behind this entire furore. Despite the good that I was trying to do, LSZ sought to shut me down but that will not happen,” he said.
The former ZMDC boss said although things were not in order, within 90 days there would be an improvement.
“The situation should look up in the next 90 days. We are trying very hard to work something out. We are running around sourcing for money,” he said. LSZ president Lloyd Mhishi could not be reached for comment yesterday.
On the labour dispute with employees, Masimirembwa confirmed receiving formal notice from the labour court.
“It’s actually two employees who have gone to the labour court and so we wait for the process to begin,” he said.
Masimirembwa is currently embroiled in a US$6m bribery scam involving some Ghanaian investors.
Allegations are that while he was still the chairperson of the ZMDC, he corruptly entered into shoddy deals with some investors whom he later asked for a bribe. But Masimirembwa has denied the allegations saying he was ready to tell his side of the story in court.
ALL IS NOT WELL, ADMITS MASIMIREMBWA
Goodwills Masimirembwa last week admitted that there were problems at his school.
But he said the current financial woes were a result of the negative publicity that Zils received during a protracted dispute with the LSZ.
“The negative publicity that we received resulted in our enrollment plummeting and some students even withdrew from the institution.
“The situation was compounded by the general economic situation which is not favourable,” said Masimirembwa.
COMMENTS
These are the type of people that bring our country down. Imagine people being not paid for that period of time. Even not paying and employee when his salary is due is criminal. This i pure slave trade and should not be allowed.
They now own the country and treat people like slaves.
God have mercy on Zimbabwe and its people
Handiti muri kuti ngatitore macompany evanhu vanobhadhara masallaries muise vasingabhadhare
With the school issue I think this gentleman had come about with a great idea beneficial to the Nation and all he needed is support but please pay your workers baba 6metre iripi?
Again I ask the question, where is the labour union? Nowehere – they are only there to victimize private business owners.
What labour union? You mean the ZANU outfit? Zimbabwe will never make it with Mugabe. What the country needs is someone who is serious and does not have skeletons in the cardboard. Mugabe failed to move Zimbabwe forward but did a resounding job of pulling it back to the stone age because he is a coward. If can not keep his ministers, wife and relatives from looting. The country has regressed to a point were police do not care about court orders, the hospitals have become death camps, the road are death traps, everything has fallen apart. Mugabe is a failure by any measure. The rhetoric about the west, the grand standing and shouting, he is like a deranged bull in a Chinese market. Stupid short man.
Politics nebasa hazvifambidzane hamayangu. Pay yevanhu wakapa vanhu ukatenga panguva yokukacompainer kuti uite member of parliament. Saka imwe uchayiwanepi nhayiwe. Takakuudza ukaramba nhasi chiona kuti mazvokuda enyora mavanga.
Despite colour white people they r 100% better than we blacks in terms of bussiness management, corruption, xploitation. Just imagin if it was a white man who hasn’t pay his employees for a year what was going to happen to his company? The main culprit is this old idiot Robie. My fellow country men as long this devil is in charge Zimbabwe is going nowhere. He doesn’t think about any idears how to rebuild the country except being a racist. What n idiot.