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VP Mnangagwa

George Maponga Masvingo Bureau
Government will not tolerate companies that victimise employees for their involvement in trade unionism because they have full backing of Zimbabwean laws to undertake such activities, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa (pictured right) has said. He said it was the workers’ constitutional right to express themselves through trade unionism. VP Mnangagwa said this in Chiredzi recently in response to claims that Lowveld sugar producer Tongaat Hulett was allegedly victimising leaders of the Zimbabwe Sugar Cane Milling Industry Workers Union (Zismiwu) for pushing the firm to honour an earlier agreement to increase salaries by $10.

Zismiwu represents the interests of over 21 000 workers in the Lowveld sugar cane industry and the labour body led by its chairman Mr Freedom Madungwe had been at loggerheads with Tongaat over salary increment to place workers in the local sugar cane industry at par with their counterparts in the region.

“We hear some reports that there are some companies that are victimising leaders of their workers unions and we want to warn such companies that they should stop the victimisation because our workers have a constitutional right to be involved in trade unionism,’’ VP Mnangagwa said.

“Our constitution allows workers to engage in trade unionism and therefore no company should victimise its workers for that because if they do that we will end up squaring up to see who is bigger than the other and we do not want to get that far,’’ he added.

VP Mnangagwa said companies involved in disputes with their workers were free to approach the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. “Companies that want to operate in Zimbabwe should adhere to our laws and those that do not want can go where they are free to do as they please.

“We do not want employers who victimise their employees for exercising their constitutional right by engaging in trade unionism,’’ he said. Tongaat Hulett is involved in a long running salary increment dispute with its workers dating back to last year when the firm’s workers stayed away from work for more than three weeks demanding $10 increment for the least paid worker.

The matter spilled into the courts and workers returned to work, but there have been fresh threats by Zismiwu to lead another industrial action as Tongaat has reportedly not yet effected the agreed salary increment.