Serious cases of absenteeism have reportedly hit the Harare City Council (HCC) amid reports that workers are failing to report for duty because of late payment of salaries, NewsDay can report.
Water and Allied Workers Union of Zimbabwe president Themba Musarurwa yesterday told NewsDay that his association, which represents workers in all local authorities across Zimbabwe, was overwhelmed by disciplinary cases involving absenteeism at the city council.
“We have been attending hearings of our workers who are charged because of absenteeism. We are representing the workers, but this is all caused by late payment of salaries, but the employer [HCC] does not know all this,” he said.
“Some workers went to the Easter holiday without salaries, now we are going to the Independence holiday. So how do they survive?”
Musarurwa said some council workers were walking long distances to work.
“We have also been told that our employer is failing to transact because of the new currency and workers are even failing to pay rentals on time,” he said.
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Musarurwa recently accused the city fathers of neglecting workers, saying many were scared of retiring because of zero savings due to poor salaries.
However, Harare mayor Jacob Mafume blamed the harsh economic environment facing the country for the development.
“As you are aware we are enduring a tough economic environment but we are trying hard to pay our workers on time,” he said.