Business / Companies
NRZ operating at a loss - deputy minister
12 Jun 2016 at 07:50hrs | Views
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Michael Madanha has told parliament that the national Railways of Zimbabwe whose workers have been on strike for a long time was operating at a loss because the railway line is dilapidated.
"It is now in the public domain that some workers at NRZ are on strike. Now, what is actually happening at NRZ is, as we all know that the situation at NRZ is that the entity is not actually operating at a profit. Why? Because our railway line is now dilapidated and secondly, the rolling stock is now old to perform efficiently. So, what is happening now is that workers have gone on strike but the reason why workers have gone on strike is not actually that workers are not being paid. Workers are being paid a certain percentage every month and the other remaining percentage which is not being paid accumulatively, can amount to something like 12 months' salary arrears," he said.
"What is the NRZ doing as an entity? NRZ since the start of the strike is encouraging workers to go back to work because at least they are receiving something and are operating at a loss. Some workers have since returned but some remain on strike."
He said the NRZ is concerned and we are going to continue encouraging workers to go back to work.
"Then another solution that NRZ has adopted is the legal way to at least try and see how best this problem can be resolved legally. So, NRZ is doing everything possible to actually pay its workers. Definitely, I agree that when workers work, they must be paid their salaries but the problem is that the entity is running at a loss from problems that I have already alluded to," he said.
"It is now in the public domain that some workers at NRZ are on strike. Now, what is actually happening at NRZ is, as we all know that the situation at NRZ is that the entity is not actually operating at a profit. Why? Because our railway line is now dilapidated and secondly, the rolling stock is now old to perform efficiently. So, what is happening now is that workers have gone on strike but the reason why workers have gone on strike is not actually that workers are not being paid. Workers are being paid a certain percentage every month and the other remaining percentage which is not being paid accumulatively, can amount to something like 12 months' salary arrears," he said.
He said the NRZ is concerned and we are going to continue encouraging workers to go back to work.
"Then another solution that NRZ has adopted is the legal way to at least try and see how best this problem can be resolved legally. So, NRZ is doing everything possible to actually pay its workers. Definitely, I agree that when workers work, they must be paid their salaries but the problem is that the entity is running at a loss from problems that I have already alluded to," he said.
Source - Byo24News
