Demo against TM supermarket
A GROUP of Bulawayo residents on Tuesday took to the streets to protest TM Supermarkets' alleged decision to overlook local labour for their new Cowdray Park branch.
The demonstrators marched from TM Hyper to the TM Supermarket branch near City Hall.
The Ibhetshu Likazulu pressure group organised the march, which drew Cowdray Park residents and representatives of various political parties.
At the City Hall branch, Ibhetshu Likazulu secretary-general Mr Mbuso Fuzwayo left a petition for TM's regional manager, Mr James Ncube.
The demonstrators waved placards with messages such as "TM shape up or ship out".
The petition demanded that the supermarket give first preference to locals for employment.
"We demand that you desist from importing labour from other areas when there are numerous unemployed youths in every area who can be engaged.
"In future, consult locals before engaging on any project in their area."
Said Mr Fuzwayo: "We also do not have a sense of ownership in the new project and are prepared to boycott the supermarket and mobilise other residents to do the same if the highlighted problems are not rectified."
He said TM Supermarkets wanted to profit from Cowdray Park residents without giving them anything in return apart from consumer goods at a price.
One of the marchers, Mr Menziwa Nyoni, fumed: "They excluded us when they employed workers to construct the supermarket in our suburb and now they have employed outsiders when so many capable youths are out of jobs in the suburb."
TM workers said they had been informed that all recruitment was being managed from the head office in Harare.
Contacted for comment, Mr Ncube advised our Bulawayo Bureau to get in touch with the chief operations manager who was only identified as Mr Chimini.
