NRZ workers on strike

WORKERS at the National Railways of Zimbabwe have gone on a nationwide strike because the parastatal has not paid them for more than two months.

The strike, which left thousands of train users stranded comes barely a month after the "army-run" parastatal announced that is was broke and in need of US$2 billion to get all in order and running or face collapse.

NRZ Spokesperson Fanuel Masikati could not be reached for comments at the time of going to press as his mobile phone was unreachable.

NRZ, which is one of the major Parastatals accused of rewarding big chefs with hefty salaries and allowances that skyrocket to US$10 000 per month, at the expense of improving service delivery and paying junior workers is now faced with a worse problem that fast-tracks its collapse which has been expected for too long. State Parastatals minister Godern Moyo has failed and or neglected to name the big chefs that are getting heft salary pecks.

"We can not work for no pay and still get no explanation as to why we are unpaid. This is modern day slavery that we cannot tolerate and we want the authorities to face us and tell us the truth,' said a train driver who requested anonymity for fear of victimization.

The company's general manager Air Commodore Karakadzai was non-committal when contacted for comment:

"What do you want to do if there is a strike…..why can't you write other news, you do not know that we have been having financial problems," he quipped before switching off his mobile phone.

The workers said for so long a time they have been "subsiding" the Parastatals which has to attend to its railway line, general service and payments to its serving, retired employees, widows and pensioners.

Embarrassingly, NRZ is paying its pensioners that include highly-skilled accountants, train-drivers, artisans, managers and clerks a paltry US$17 per month and has also failed to avail the meager salaries to these mentioned people.

The pensioners have joined hands with NRZ widows who also cry foul over being neglected by the Parastatals because of the latter's failure to pay them their monthly stipends.

The Amalgated Railway Workers Union (Zarwu) and Railway Association of Enginemen could not be reached for comment.

State Enterprises and Parastatals Minister Godern Moyo recently said government is considering opening up the railway network to private players.

This he said after its was realized that the NRZ's monopoly is drowning in a ballooning US$ 274 million deficit of depleted fleet and recapitalization costs.

A committee comprising of officials from the State Enterprises Restructuring Agency (SERA) , Ministry of Transport and the NRZ board was set up to formulate viable strategies to resuscitate the ailing sector.

NRZ's service delivery has been in decline over the past decade, from a capacity of 18 million tons per year to down only 5,3 million tones. The embattled parastatal is left with 33 functioning diesel and one electric locomotive out of more than 62 and 10 respectively.

About US$ 750 000 and US$20 000 is required to refurbish each locomotive and wagon respectively. Finance Minister Tendai Biti told the media that the railway system was on the verge of collapse as a result of mismanagement and failure to update its systems for more than two decades.

The World Bank once recommended that NRZ should close down two thirds of its railway network to allow for rehabilitation because of the potential disaster it poses.