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Business Reporter
CASUAL workers at Bak Logistics in Bulawayo are complaining over low wages and poor working conditions at the company.
Bak Logistics is a subsidiary of the Tobacco Sales Limited and offers logistics services such as storage and distribution to its customers.
In Bulawayo, the division is sub-contracted by World Food Programme (WFP).
The casual workers told Business Chronicle they were not being paid overtime by their employer while they earned wages less than $20 a week.
“We are not happy with the conditions of work that we are subjected under. Although we are being paid based on the more you work the more you earn concept, we still believe our salary scale is very low.
“Under normal circumstances, we are supposed to start work at 8am and knock off at 5pm but at times we are forced to work overtime up to 8pm and 9pm and we are not paid the overtime worked.
“What pains us most also is that per week we are paid wages that are less than $20 and even when there is no work we are not allowed to go outside the company’s premises,” said one of the workers who is based at Bak Logistics main premises, where they load and off load food consignment from haulage trucks.
Another employee based at WFP premises where Bak Logistics was servicing said if they worked on holidays or weekends their salary did not change.
“We also suspect that there is an element of cheating by some of our company’s management because we do not have pay slips.
“The money comes directly from the paying officer’s pocket and we think we are being cheated as they is no record reflecting the amount that we would have been paid.
“Even at home, some of us our spouses think that we are not being honest because we do not have pay slips to reflect our earnings,” said the worker.
The workers also said some of them had gone for more than a year as casual workers.
“Some of our workmates have gone for more than a year as casual workers and we strongly believe that this is against the labour law.”
Contacted for comment the group’s human resources manager Mr Edwin Nharirire could neither confirm nor deny the allegations by the workers.
“As Bak Logistics, we do subscribe to all the tenets of the labour laws of the country and international labour standards.
“With the nature of the logistics business, there is need for casual labour for loading and off-loading goods. Again as per industry practice, both local and international, causal hire and payment is made on the basis of the work on hand.
“Every effort is made to ensure that the casual employees recruited are fairly remunerated.
“When issues suggest discontent among staff, it is our company policy to look into them objectively with a view of addressing all causes of discontent.”
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions secretary-general Mr Japhet Moyo said he was not sure whether their sector was specified.
He said all the sectors have collective bargaining agreements which indicated minimum wages.
“If their sector is not specified, we urge them to approach our ZCTU offices there (Bulawayo) and see a guy called Percy Mcijo. ZCTU will intervene and take the matter up.
“We also don’t have that phrase (payment is made on the basis of the work on hand) in the Labour Act. We will advise the employer what the labour law says.
“The workers are supposed to be paid on hourly basis based on the minimum set by a relevant authority,” he said.
Mr Moyo said the employer was running away from deeming the workers permanent by giving them back-to-back contracts but the law stipulated that after three months they should be engaged permanently.
Bongani Ndlovu