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Herald Business understands that workers who were served with official communication terminating their contracts have agreed to the conditions set out by the bank.

RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono in December last year disclosed before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion that 1 600 workers would be affected.
According to a retrenchment schedule in Herald Business’s  possession, workers, depending on their grade, will receive one-month’s salary for every year served up to January 31, 2011 and US$1 000 or one month’s salary for relocation.

As part of their retrenchment package they will also receive one month’s salary for each of the following — severance pay, bonus and gratuity.
Workers will have six months’ cover for medical aid and for school fees each worker would get six months (two terms from the effective date of retrenchment).
Beneficiaries will also get funeral cover for six months.

In view of the bank’s current financial difficulties, the agreement stated that an advance payment towards the package amounting to US$5 000 would be paid out as take-home money to be deducted from the full entitlement.

The balance of the retrenchment package, including backpay from March 2009, will also be paid in two instalments on March 31 and June 30, 2011.
Some of the affected workers told Herald Business that they had stopped reporting for duty while the largest number will stop coming to work on January 31, 2011.
RBZ public relations manager Mr Kumbirai Nhongo said the governor would issue a statement later.

It could not be established how much the programme would cost the central bank.
Analysts commended the move by the central bank as the institution moves towards concentrating on its core business.
“We are going to see the central bank concentrating on its core business, the institution was overstaffed and this would definitely bring efficiency back at RBZ,” said one analyst.

Late last year, the central bank restored its status as the lender of the last resort and they are expected to concentrate on regulating the financial sector.
The Reserve Bank is saddled with a massive debt overhang of US$1,2 billion of which 65 percent was inherited from previous administrations.
The debts were accumulated from supporting crucial national programmes such as buying agricultural inputs and machinery and also lending support to ailing parastatals.-The Herald