The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) came under spotlight in Parliament last week with Bulawayo Central MP Dorcas Sibanda calling for investigations on alleged victimisation of workers who expressed grievances over unfair working conditions.
Sibanda said this while debating a motion on the first report of the portfolio committee on transport and infrastructural development on the operations of the NRZ.
She said it was startling that NRZ was being managed by former army brigadiers and that a lot of war veterans without job descriptions were now employed at the parastatal.
In most departments at the NRZ, war veterans have been employed and what is worrying is that they do not have job descriptions, said Sibanda.
The NRZ used to be managed by qualified engineers and technical people, but now it is managed by brigadiers, and we want to know why it has been destroyed to the extent it is now.
Gibson Siziba, an internal auditor, was fired after he complained about working conditions and we want to know if that is government policy.
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Sibanda alleged workers at the parastatal had not been paid since November last year. NRZ was a viable parastatal looking after many families in Bulawayo and used to pay better salaries than many companies in Zimbabwe, but now workers are suffering and since November last year they have not been paid their salaries.
Railmed medical aid scheme is unable to offer them medicines when they are sick yet money is deducted from their payslips. We then wonder if these brigadiers are qualified to manage NRZ,she said.