SCORES of disgruntled Ziscosteel workers in Redcliff took to the streets on Saturday in protest over poor living conditions, abuse of workers by top management and failure by the government to resuscitate the sleeping iron and steel-making giant.
BY STAFF REPORTER
Led by the Zimbabwe Metal, Energy & Allied Workers’ Union president Antony Nyashanu, the workers petitioned government through Kwekwe district administrator Tenpercent Mutikizizi and Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Jason Machaya to address their grievances.
The workers said non-payment of their salaries since 2008 had put their families in abject poverty.
“The social scene has seen a catastrophic moral decay, family break-ups and severe erosion of moral values. We submit that the area has recently been rated as one with the highest school dropouts and high number of commercial sex workers as employees try to succour a living,” part of the petition read.
“Government promised to create two million jobs and it surely can’t be seen shutting down the 5 000 jobs that are already at Ziscoteel and destroy the entire economy of our community, something must be done now.”
The workers also accused the company’s top management of corruption and contributing to the collapse of the $750 million takeover deal of Ziscosteel by Essar Africa Holdings.
“We suspect that there are senior ranked officials in the company’s fold who have also facilitated in the failure to have the company reopened by means of being corrupt and undertaking shady deals.”
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The workers claimed victimisation of union leaders by the dormant company’s top management.
Recently, workers’ committee chairperson Cheneso Jack was fired after she allegedly exposed a $1 million looting racket at the company which she claimed had bled Ziscosteel since January this year.
Jack allegedly spilled the beans to our sister publication Zimbabwe Independent, accusing top management of being behind a series of thefts that had left the company without electric motors, copper wires and other spare parts.
