News / National
Air Zim CEO held hostage!
17 Nov 2011 at 21:45hrs | Views
State media reports that Air Zimbabwe bosses have been held hostage by some of the airline's 700 workers who held a night vigil demanding payment of their outstanding salaries.
On Thursday night, acting group chief executive officer Mr Moses Mapanda and an official from the finance department, Mr Nicholas Mujeri, were being held hostage by the workers.
The airline owes workers US$5,6 million in outstanding salaries.
A workers' representative, who declined to be named, said they had not been paid for over five months and had no money for transport, food and rent.
Those who refused to go home yesterday include technical and non-technical staff.
"We are going to sleep here. Our colleagues have gone home claiming they are sick, while others said they wanted to take care of their young children.
"We have no money and we are not going anywhere," he said.
The workers said management promised to give them US$200 as part payment of the outstanding salaries, but ran out of money during the day.
Some of the 409 workers, who were retrenched recently, were part of the workers that held the overnight vigil.
However, Mr Mapanda said the workers were not on a full-scale strike.
He, however, confirmed that they had problems in paying workers' salaries on time.
"We are in the meantime doing some interim payments and we do not have money to pay them all. We pay as we make the money and we are targeting to pay them all in two weeks.
"We started paying them US$200 since Friday last week from the sales that we are making and we have covered over 50 percent of them," said Mr Mapanda.
There are 700 workers who are yet to be paid varying amounts in outstanding salaries.
Recently, Airzim planes were grounded as pilots went on strike demanding to be paid outstanding salaries.
On Thursday night, acting group chief executive officer Mr Moses Mapanda and an official from the finance department, Mr Nicholas Mujeri, were being held hostage by the workers.
The airline owes workers US$5,6 million in outstanding salaries.
A workers' representative, who declined to be named, said they had not been paid for over five months and had no money for transport, food and rent.
Those who refused to go home yesterday include technical and non-technical staff.
"We are going to sleep here. Our colleagues have gone home claiming they are sick, while others said they wanted to take care of their young children.
"We have no money and we are not going anywhere," he said.
Some of the 409 workers, who were retrenched recently, were part of the workers that held the overnight vigil.
However, Mr Mapanda said the workers were not on a full-scale strike.
He, however, confirmed that they had problems in paying workers' salaries on time.
"We are in the meantime doing some interim payments and we do not have money to pay them all. We pay as we make the money and we are targeting to pay them all in two weeks.
"We started paying them US$200 since Friday last week from the sales that we are making and we have covered over 50 percent of them," said Mr Mapanda.
There are 700 workers who are yet to be paid varying amounts in outstanding salaries.
Recently, Airzim planes were grounded as pilots went on strike demanding to be paid outstanding salaries.
Source - TH
