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NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Mpofu given 5-day ultimatum to pay workers

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The Zimbabwe Mail employees have given Transport minister Obert Mpofu a five-day ultimatum to pay them their salary arrears amounting to over $50 000 following the newspaper’s recent collapse.

The Zimbabwe Mail employees have given Transport minister Obert Mpofu a five-day ultimatum to pay them their salary arrears amounting to over $50 000 following the newspaper’s recent collapse.

The newspaper folded last week reportedly due to financial constraints, rendering 20 journalists and support staff jobless.

However, 10 of the employees whose contracts of employment still subsist, have since approached labour lawyers to fight their cause and force Mpofu to pay them several thousands of dollars which they are owed in salary arrears.

In a letter dated March 25 2015, addressed to The Zimbabwe Mail, the employees requested Mpofu’s firm to comply with their demand, failure which they threatened to institute legal action.

The employees are demanding payments ranging between $1 200 and $11 000 each.

Their lawyer Rodgers Matsikidze said: “In the circumstances, we have been instructed to demand that the employer pays our clients their outstanding arrear salaries within the next five working days. In the failure of the above, we have been instructed to institute legal proceedings against the employer.”

The lawyer also asked Mpofu to clarify on the status of his workers whose contracts he said still existed, but their services were not being utilised. “Further we have been instructed to seek clarity on the status of our clients’ employment as clearly their contracts are still subsisting, but the employer is not utilising their services,” Matsikidze said.