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Zupco drivers reduced to ‘street kids’ at ICASA

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ZUPCO drivers who were brought in from Gweru, Masvingo and Bulawayo to provide shuttle services for delegates attending the International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in Harare have allegedly been reduced to the level of street kids while on the job.

ZUPCO drivers who were brought in from Gweru, Masvingo and Bulawayo to provide shuttle services for delegates attending the International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in Harare have allegedly been reduced to the level of street kids while on the job.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

The drivers were reportedly sleeping in their buses and forced to survive on an allowance of $11 a day, which they say covered for their lunch, supper and breakfast.

“We are living a very difficult life away from our homes on an allowance of $11 a day, money which is supposed to cover for our accommodation, meals and other incidentals. We are now being forced to sleep inside our buses and rarely bathe as we shuttle delegates daily,” one of the drivers who refused to be named said.

Zupco

Another driver said before being shipped from Bulawayo, management had promised them that they would be paid $65 a day for their upkeep while on ICASA duty.

“We were told that our allowances would stand at $65 a day, but to our surprise, we are now getting $11 only. This money is not even enough for meals, let alone accommodation. It’s a painful experience and we pray that the event ends so we can go back home,” he said.

Zupco, which is facing collapse, is reportedly also failing to pay workers’ wages and is struggling to keep its fleet on the road.

It did not have sufficient manpower from their Harare base to efficiently provide transport logistics for ICASA.

“They had to deploy people from other cities because we don’t have local manpower which is adequate to transport the delegates. The issue is we also had to maintain our presence on our major routes and, therefore, the need to bring in other drivers from outside Harare,” a source said.

Attempts to get comment from Zupco were fruitless as their phones went unanswered the whole of yesterday.

Their landline numbers and their customer toll-free number rang continually without response.