ZDAMWU warns Rio on rumours of Jobs bloodbath at Murowa
The Zimbabwe Diamond & Allied Minerals Workers Union (Zdamwu) wrote a letter to Murowa management stating that the union had noted with concern a jobs bloodbath at Murowa.
Reports that Murowa plans to cut its staff complement to 400 from 800 has led to concern among workers that the mining sector is lacking strategic direction and proper management. The company’s retrenchments have been driven by “mismanagement”, according to Zdamwu’s Secretary-General Justice Chinhema. He added that rumors are circulating that some departments are notifying workers of a voluntary retrenchment exercise. If it is true that the company is laying off workers as a result of mismanagement, this will undermine Zimbabwe’s goal of achieving a US$12 billion mining economy by 2023.
“Rumours are also circulating that you intend to lay off 400 workers out of the total 800 workers currently employed,” the letter reads.
“It has further come to our attention that some departments have notified their workers of a voluntary retrenchment exercise. If all this we are hearing is true, then it is confirming what we have been saying in all our letters that RioZim is lacking strategic direction and proper management.
“Your workers and the union now share the view that the correct situation facing RZM (RioZim Murowa) together with other RioZim companies is a lack of proper management. To be honest with you, we have lost confidence in the shareholders of the company and its management. Workers are working in fear of losing their jobs and all is pointing (to) sabotaging the government’s target of US$12 billion mining economy by 2023.”
“(The) mining industry, as the backbone of the country’s economy, as clearly positioned by the Government of Zimbabwe through National Development Strategy 1 & 2, requires every one including your management to play your part through creating and securing more jobs. The timing of your activities now worries us and we are afraid might degenerate into labour unrest,” Chinhema noted.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s US$12 billion mining vision is one of several signature policies helping to rebuild Zimbabwe’s struggling economy. Several minerals, including diamonds, are expected to improve output this year, with the gems expected to contribute $1 billion to the economy. The mining union is concerned that the cuts at Murowa will have a detrimental effect on the mineral output.
RioZim, which controls Murowa diamonds, is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and has been going through a challenging period over the past year. Financial results for the half-year ended June 30, 2022, reported that liabilities at the firm were $13 billion higher than current assets, or roughly US$14 million today.
As the backbone of the country’s economy, Zimbabwe’s mining industry requires everyone, including management, to work together to create and preserve more jobs. If the fears of a labour unrest based on the timing of Murowa’s retrenchment plans come to fruition, it could damage an industry that is crucial to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.