DISGRUNTLED Grain Marketing Board (GMB) workers have threatened to stage a second sit-in at the parastatal’s headquarters in Harare today protest against their managers’ failure to honour their pledge to pay part of the salary backlog by the end of February. BY FELUNA NLEYA
Two weeks ago, hundreds of GMB employees from all depots stormed their employer’s head office over salary arrears and only dispersed after management promised to clear the arrears in two batches, between February 28 and the end of March.
GMB workers’ union secretary David Chigogo recently circulated a memo advising the employees of the planned sit-in.
“Be advised that if management fails to pay three months’ salary arrears by February 28 2015, according to their promises, we are going to convene at GMB head office on March 4 2015,” Chigogo wrote.
By yesterday workers had not yet received their salaries for the past six months.
“Let’s remain focused and united, no one should be intimidated for asking for his or her money. The same Labour Act which management is referring to does not allow for slavery.”
Chigogo said management had breached the code of conduct and “should be charged with gross incompetence, tarnishing the image of the organisation, just to mention a few”.
“This time we are not going to negotiate with anyone because management has proved that they cannot say the truth,” Chigogo wrote. GMB has also failed to pay for maize deliveries made by farmers in 2013 due to financial challenges.
