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Tawanda Mangoma in Chiredzi
Sugar producer Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe has reportedly fired over 500 casual workers in a development that has cast a shadow in the Lowveld where the firm is the single biggest employer. Tongaat reportedly laid off contract workers in the Hippo Valley Estates, where the firm lost close to 4 000 hectares of sugarcane plantations that were allocated to indigenous farmers by Government.

Recently, the company decided to offer its B and A and B and B workers a 15 percent and 7,5 percent salary increment respectively, with effect from April 1.

Tongaat’s move to fire the contract workers has raised the spectre of more job losses at the sugar producer.
Former Zimbabwe Sugar Milling Industry Workers Union (Zismiwu) president Mr Freedom Madungwe, who is still employed by the company, last week said the job cuts by Tongaat were not welcome.

“We had been overjoyed by the company’s decision to award us a pay rise, but the move has now been diluted by the latest decision not to renew contracts of some workers,” he said.

“The most affected workers were those at Hippo Valley Estates and the future is not even looking good for us who have remained.’’

Mr Madungwe appealed to Government to allow Tongaat to develop the planned 4 000ha new cane plantations in the Lowveld as the move might see some of the axed workers being reabsorbed.

The envisaged project dubbed “Kilimanjaro” will cost $40 million to develop and Tongaat says it will start work once Government has given the green light as the firm seeks to up Zimbabwe’s aggregate sugar output to more than one million tonnes annually.

Chiredzi West Member of Parliament (MP) Cde Darlington Chiwa said job losses at Tongaat were unavoidable after the firm lost 4 000ha of cane fields, which left some employees redundant.

“Tongaat had been maintaining over 500 contract employees who were working in some sections at Hippo Valley and Triangle Estates since 2014, so now that part of its land has been allocated to new farmers the firm has no choice except letting some employees go,’’ he said.

“I spoke to the Tongaat management and they made it plainly clear that there is no reason to maintain the same size of workforce when the area of operation has been reduced.”

Cde Chiwa promised to continue engaging the company to give preference to the fired workers when recruiting seasonal labourers.

It is believed that the forthcoming harvesting period might present the fired workers with a lifeline as Tongaat will require more labourers to harvest its crop.

In 2006, Tongaat lost more than 6 000ha of cane plantations at Mkwasine Estates that were acquired by Government for resettlement purposes.

The company absorbed the cost without shedding jobs.
Tongaat reportedly moved the affected workers at Mkwasine to some of its operations at Hippo Valley and Triangle estates.