adminThe development has induced panic in the company’s management and workers who felt the decision was too harsh and that it would force the company to close down.
In a bid to recover the contributions, CIPF approached the Deputy Sheriff’s office, which published a notice in the press on Tuesday about the proposed auction that was supposed to take place yesterday morning.
According to the notice CIPF has attached 67 heavy duty industrial sewing machines and 20 overlocking sewing machines worth thousands of dollars.
Ascot Clothing is situated at Number 7 Doncaster/Bristol Road, Belmont.
The auction however, did not take place yesterday as there were no buyers.
When Chronicle visited the company yesterday mid-morning the workers were doing business as usual although they said they were living in fear that the company would be closed at any time.
“We owe CIPF $55 000 in pension contributions that date back to 2009. We also owe other service providers such as Zimra, council, Zesa, NSSA and the banks who have also written summons to us,” said the company’s manager Mr Umesh Madhoo.
“How the company accrued this debt we do not know. Our financial consultant knows better but has not been here for some time and is reportedly sick. The company owner Mr Doron Kirkle has also deserted us and we do not know where he is for the past five months.
Mr Kirkle bought the company from Mr Elan Elkaim in 2009.
The company’s human resources manager Mr Mxolisi Hlabangana said the company was on the brink of collapse should the auction go ahead.
He appealed for Government intervention to block the auction to protect the workers’ families.
“The auction is still going on but there are no buyers for now. This will ground everything and render the workers jobless. We are trying to block the move and have made an application to the High Court to block it,” said Mr Hlabangana.
“We are also trying to engage the Ministries of Industry and Commerce and Labour and Social Services to assist us. The company is facing liquidity problems but if we can get money we can stand on our feet because we have a competitive edge.”
The chairperson of the workers’ committee, Mr Roy Mthombeni, said the decision by CIPF was unfair to workers.
“It is not fair for CIPF to take such harsh measures. They should find better ways of recovering the money than pushing the company to close down. The manner in which they do will worsen our situation,” said Mr Mthombeni.
“As workers and management we are united and cannot fold arms and let the company collapse. We applied for Dimaf and we are still waiting for assistance.”
Contacted for comment, a senior official from CIPF who preferred anonymity said Ascot Clothing had failed to remit pension contributions in the past years.
“The issue is being settled by our lawyers. Like most companies in Bulawayo, Ascot Clothing failed to settle its debt with CIPF. We usually approach companies to enquire about logical reasons for failure to settle debts. The same procedure was applied, although they eventually failed to pay up resulting in their property being attached for auction,” said the official.
More than 85 companies have closed shop in Bulawayo in the past few years with an estimated 20 000 workers losing their jobs.
The clothing and textile sector, once one of the largest employers in the city, has been the hardest hit with about 19 companies having closed shop and laid off thousands of workers.
Some of the textile companies that have either closed shop or scaled down include National Blankets, Archer Clothing, Cotton Printers and Security Mills.
Players in the industry have cited unfair competition from cheap imports and liquidity challenge as major factors behind the demise of the city’s industry.
Online Reporter