Chronicle Editor
Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
HOSPITALITY group, African Sun, has slashed salaries for most of its workers including top executives by 50 percent due to the adverse effects of the global pandemic, Covid-19.
Of late, African Sun announced the closure of 21 of its hotels and strategic business units around the country owing to restricted travel and unplanned cancellations on hotel bookings following the spread of the disease across the world.
According to an internal memorandum dated April 7, signed by the hotel’s acting human resources director Mr Believe Dirorimwe, African Sun informed its employees of the decision to halve their salaries.
“In an effort to save your job and to ensure that you have at least an income while at the same time mitigating the company’s risk of going out of business, the board has ascertained and resolved that it is only possible to pay employees 50 percent salary for the months of April and May 2020,” reads part of the document.
Mr Dirorimwe said the balance and accrued salaries would be settled when the existing ‘act of God’ has been contained and business has normalised.
He indicated that African Sun was cognisant of the rule of law that an employment contract cannot be unilaterally altered, but the drastic measure has to be taken as the company has not been generating business long before the Ministerial Public Health (Covid-19 Presidential Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020-SI 83 of 2020.
“As a result of the effects of the Lockdown Order and the Covid-19 pandemic as a whole, you are unable to avail yourself for work and the company has no work to avail to you owing to circumstances beyond its control, which circumstances can be legally coined ‘force majeure’.
“The other option should you not agree to the proposed salary cut and the other measures set out herein above, is the mutual suspension of contractual obligation on account of impossibility of same on the basis of ‘force majeure’ in the form of Covid-19 pandemic and the aforesaid Ministerial Order.”
Mr Dirorimwe further indicated that if some of the employees are not part of the critical staff working from home, and have not filled a vacation leave form, they are deemed to be on paid vacation leave with effect from March 30 to April 19, 2020.
“The payment of the same will be in terms of the measures set out of order, please note this period may be extended.”
The hotel group has indicated that it will continue to monitor the situation and once contained, consideration would be made on the reopening of some or all of its strategic business units, hotels and resorts after the stipulated 21-day national lockdown.
Some of African Sun’s hotels and strategic business units that have been closed across the country include Elephant Hills Resort and Conference Centre, Victoria Falls, Monomotapa Hotel Harare, Hwange Safari Lodge, Dete, Caribbea Bay Resort Kariba, Troutbeck Resort Nyanga.
Covid-19 is a global pandemic that was first detected in China last December and has spread across the nations of the world killing close to 100 000 people.
In Zimbabwe, the disease was detected a few weeks ago and 13 confirmed cases have been recorded with three deaths. Meanwhile, the national airline, Air Zimbabwe has also indicated that a number of its non-technical workers are set to be sent on indefinite unpaid leave from April 23 as it seeks to trim its losses after grounding operations due to the ongoing lockdown in most parts of the world.
The coronavirus outbreak has seen most countries adopting travel restrictions and lockdown to minimise its spread, resulting in AirZim stopping its flights. — @okazunga
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