GCP workers want provisional liquidation

By The NewsDay | Apr. 6, 2011 | 2 Min read

Workers at Glue and Chemical Products Private Limited (GCP), manufactures and distributors of detergents and industrial and consumer adhesives, have applied for a High Court order to place the ailing company under provisional liquidation amidst fears they could be prejudiced in the long run. Led by committee chair person David Nzero, employees insisted on the […]

Led by committee chair person David Nzero, employees insisted on the winding up of GCP, formerly Henkel Incorporated Zimbabwe Private Limited, on the basis that the manufacturer was unable to pay its liabilities — it was just and equitable to protect the interests of creditors.

“The respondent (GCP) has not been able to pay workers full salary in terms of collective bargaining agreements since the country introduced the multicurrency system in February 2009,” Nzero wrote in an affidavit submitted before the high court.

“The company is also faced by several litigants claiming substantial sums of money that may at any time begin to issue writs of execution.”

In terms of the collective bargaining, issued by the national employment council, since February 2009 GCP employees are as at January 31 2011 owed an excess of $165 000 in arrear salaries and wages.

The inability of the company to meet salary arrears has been reflected by the fact that management has since 2009 failed to pay salaries and wages in full except amounts not exceeding $100 per employee each month.

Credible sources said management had already confirmed in a workers’ council meeting held in October last year that the company’s creditors, who now exceeded $900 000, were scrambling for the firm’s asset value of $1, 2 million.

Highly-placed sources in the union said the company had threatened to take disciplinary action against workers for seeking legal intervention, under Claudius Nhemwa of C Nhemwa and Associates, on the basis that they had released confidential information.