THERE was chaos yesterday when Zimbabwe Pharmaceutical (Pvt) Ltd (ZimPharm) closed down its branch in Bulawayo’s Belmont industrial amid clashes with workers trying to force their way into the premises. REPORT BY SILAS NKALA STAFF REPORTER
About 37 workers at the pharmaceutical firm confronted their management demanding payment of October and November salaries.
On November 16, management advised employees the company would be “closing soon” because of lack of a market for its products in the city.
Most of the machinery was transferred to Harare before the company closed.
Workers yesterday said on Wednesday, management told them that the company would be closed yesterday (Thursday) and anyone forcing themselves in would be prosecuted.
The angry workers threatened to lock the manager in if they insisted on closing the company without paying them, but were restrained by the workers’ committee.
The Zimbabwe Chemical, Plastics and Allied Workers’ Union Bulawayo regional organising secretary Rabseck Mutero, who was representing the workers, yesterday confirmed that the company had closed down the branch.
“They are forcing workers to sign for the voluntary exit packages of between $2 000 and $3 000, which they said also cover their October and November salaries,” he said.
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“They said if they refuse to sign they would not get their salaries.”
The least paid worker at the company gets $478 per month.
“When the workers reported for duty today (yesterday) the gates were locked,” Mutero said.
“Later, management went into a long meeting with the workers’ committee, where it tried to influence them to encourage workers to sign for the paltry packages.
“But we are saying they must pay workers their salaries and the packages would be negotiated later.”
He said workers were not given their money because they refused to sign.
“I have communicated with our Harare head office so that our designated agent meets the company’s finance director Patrick McCosh over the issue,” Mutero said.
When NewsDay visited the company yesterday a few workers were sitting outside.
McCosh was said to be out of office yesterday.
Last week McCosh confirmed that they would close the Bulawayo branch “soon” after finalising some logistics.
McCosh denied claims the company was refusing to pay workers their salary arrears, but admitted they were offering voluntary exit packages to workers. He said the company was in production, but there was no market for its products.
The development comes at a time when the city has seen over 90 companies shutting down in Bulawayo since the 2008 hyper-inflationary period.
