News / National
NRZ workers vow to continue strike
04 Apr 2016 at 06:46hrs | Views
NATIONAL Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) workers have vowed not to end their strike, which enters its seventh day today, until they are paid their 15 months outstanding salaries.
On Wednesday, the workers rejected an offer by management to pay them between $175 and $350 each.
In an interview yesterday, the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Railway Workers Union president, Kamurai Moyo, said: "I can confirm that our members are on strike and the industrial action continues tomorrow because nothing so far has been agreed between the workers and management.
"For a long time now, the workers have been demanding payment of their outstanding salaries and by now management must have come up with a sustainable way to pay the workers their dues," he said.
Moyo added that the new NRZ board chairman Larry Mavhima has promised to address the workers this week.
Efforts to get a comment from Mavhima and NRZ public relations manager Fanuel Masikati were fruitless as their phones were not being answered.
Over 4,000 NRZ workers across the country downed tools bringing to a halt operations including the transportation of imported wheat and drought relief maize.
The ailing parastatal, which is saddled with a $144 million debt with the workers owed about $68 million, continues to experience plummeting traffic levels, which have negatively impacted on income.
"NRZ management shouldn't hide behind declining traffic levels as a reason for not paying the workers their outstanding salaries. Why can't they pay the workers from the income being generated from NRZ properties it's renting out," argued Moyo.
On Friday, he said, the workers' union leadership was introduced to the new NRZ board chairman and nothing was discussed regarding the strike by the workers.
"Since he (Mavhima) is coming in as the new board chairman, the meeting was just meant to introduce him to the union leadership; nothing to do with the strike was discussed at the meeting," said Moyo.
In a suspected act of sabotage, NRZ workers are alleged to have caused a goods train to derail in Gweru last week.
The train, with 26 wagons, was headed for South Africa with more than 1,000 tonnes of nickel.
Media reports say preliminary investigations indicate that four points along the railway line behind Fairmile Hotel in Gweru were tampered with and covered with sorghum stalks to obscure the engine man's vision.
Asked to comment on the allegations that NRZ workers in Gweru were involved in sabotaging their employer by derailing the goods train, Moyo said:
"That statement lacks credibility because we've always talked of NRZ equipment being obsolete.
"And just over the Easter Holidays, trains also derailed in Makwiro and Munyati areas so, by operating with such infrastructure, trains are bound to derail.
"However, we leave the matter to the authorities to investigate the alleged sabotage."
On Wednesday, the workers rejected an offer by management to pay them between $175 and $350 each.
In an interview yesterday, the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Railway Workers Union president, Kamurai Moyo, said: "I can confirm that our members are on strike and the industrial action continues tomorrow because nothing so far has been agreed between the workers and management.
"For a long time now, the workers have been demanding payment of their outstanding salaries and by now management must have come up with a sustainable way to pay the workers their dues," he said.
Moyo added that the new NRZ board chairman Larry Mavhima has promised to address the workers this week.
Efforts to get a comment from Mavhima and NRZ public relations manager Fanuel Masikati were fruitless as their phones were not being answered.
Over 4,000 NRZ workers across the country downed tools bringing to a halt operations including the transportation of imported wheat and drought relief maize.
The ailing parastatal, which is saddled with a $144 million debt with the workers owed about $68 million, continues to experience plummeting traffic levels, which have negatively impacted on income.
"NRZ management shouldn't hide behind declining traffic levels as a reason for not paying the workers their outstanding salaries. Why can't they pay the workers from the income being generated from NRZ properties it's renting out," argued Moyo.
"Since he (Mavhima) is coming in as the new board chairman, the meeting was just meant to introduce him to the union leadership; nothing to do with the strike was discussed at the meeting," said Moyo.
In a suspected act of sabotage, NRZ workers are alleged to have caused a goods train to derail in Gweru last week.
The train, with 26 wagons, was headed for South Africa with more than 1,000 tonnes of nickel.
Media reports say preliminary investigations indicate that four points along the railway line behind Fairmile Hotel in Gweru were tampered with and covered with sorghum stalks to obscure the engine man's vision.
Asked to comment on the allegations that NRZ workers in Gweru were involved in sabotaging their employer by derailing the goods train, Moyo said:
"That statement lacks credibility because we've always talked of NRZ equipment being obsolete.
"And just over the Easter Holidays, trains also derailed in Makwiro and Munyati areas so, by operating with such infrastructure, trains are bound to derail.
"However, we leave the matter to the authorities to investigate the alleged sabotage."
Source - chronicle
