News / National
Bosso players stage sit-in
08 Jul 2021 at 11:12hrs | Views
HIGHLANDERS players stormed the club's Robert Mugabe Way offices yesterday morning and forced a meeting with club chairman Johnfat Sibanda over delayed June salaries and signing-on fees. Bosso players arrived at the club offices at 9am and met Sibanda four hours later.
The players said they were forced to stage a sit in at the club offices because they were now on the verge of being evicted by their landlords for not paying rentals.
They added that following a resolution after last month's strike, Sibanda, in the presence of Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (Fuz) president Desmond Maringwa, had promised to meet the players mid-June to apprise them on their salary adjustment demands.
"The problem is that we're having problems with our landlords who want their rentals. It's been tough for us and we don't have anything to feed our families. Even though the salaries are paltry, they can still cover something. Some of the guys were told that they would get their outstanding signing-on fees at the end of June, but nothing came. We know there's no football being played, but it's only fair that we meet the chairman now and iron out issues before games restart to avoid a situation where we're again forced to strike," said one player. Another player said they were disappointed that the club hadn't communicated anything to them since their last meeting last month.
"Last month the chairman said he would meet us two weeks before month end, which didn't happen. We had to force this meeting and it's sad that he says the lockdown affected last month's meeting yet the lockdown was only revised last week. He should have been honest with us rather than use such a lame excuse," said another player.
Highlanders did not respond to Chronicle Sport's request for a comment on the latest episode. Bosso players first went on strike at the beginning of June, boycotting training sessions for three days and threatening not to fulfill their Chibuku Super Cup match against Bulawayo City, accusing the club's executive committee of reneging on its promise to review their salaries upwards.
The players were demanding US$100 each as salary top-ups and even rejected a well-wisher's offer of half of their demands. Bosso then sought the intervention of Fuz, resulting in the players accepting an additional US$70 each to their salaries, while the club explored possible solutions to its financial woes to meet the players' demands.
The players said they were forced to stage a sit in at the club offices because they were now on the verge of being evicted by their landlords for not paying rentals.
They added that following a resolution after last month's strike, Sibanda, in the presence of Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (Fuz) president Desmond Maringwa, had promised to meet the players mid-June to apprise them on their salary adjustment demands.
"The problem is that we're having problems with our landlords who want their rentals. It's been tough for us and we don't have anything to feed our families. Even though the salaries are paltry, they can still cover something. Some of the guys were told that they would get their outstanding signing-on fees at the end of June, but nothing came. We know there's no football being played, but it's only fair that we meet the chairman now and iron out issues before games restart to avoid a situation where we're again forced to strike," said one player. Another player said they were disappointed that the club hadn't communicated anything to them since their last meeting last month.
"Last month the chairman said he would meet us two weeks before month end, which didn't happen. We had to force this meeting and it's sad that he says the lockdown affected last month's meeting yet the lockdown was only revised last week. He should have been honest with us rather than use such a lame excuse," said another player.
Highlanders did not respond to Chronicle Sport's request for a comment on the latest episode. Bosso players first went on strike at the beginning of June, boycotting training sessions for three days and threatening not to fulfill their Chibuku Super Cup match against Bulawayo City, accusing the club's executive committee of reneging on its promise to review their salaries upwards.
The players were demanding US$100 each as salary top-ups and even rejected a well-wisher's offer of half of their demands. Bosso then sought the intervention of Fuz, resulting in the players accepting an additional US$70 each to their salaries, while the club explored possible solutions to its financial woes to meet the players' demands.
Source - chronicle
