Online Reporter
FOLLOWING a successful first round of pre-strike wage part settlement, Vubachikwe Gold Mine has launched a second round of settlements that will have salary earners also having their part settlements made.
Following an illegal strike by workers two years ago, the Gwanda-based mine was forced to scale down after suffering millions in strike-related losses and destruction of property. In what was the height of management-worker relations improving since the strike, wage-earning workers negotiated a payment of a portion of their pre-strike wages, which management took into cognisance and assented to.
Following the eager uptake, salary earners hinted their willingness to also be considered for such an arrangement and management has since agreed.
“In our reset and re-engagement drive we have seen greater cordial relations between workers and management which has resulted in the payment of pre-strike owed wages and with hints of salaried workers also keen to get a similar settlement, management has gladly indulged and consented and the program will be on anytime from now,” said mine spokesperson Mr Robert Mukondiwa.
“The pre-strike pay is not disputed and therefore it was always going to be easy to reach an agreement. We are not a company in financial distress and are in good standing with a most of our creditors hence making such a commitment to our workers was a decision that was pretty easy to arrive at,” he added.
You may be aware that there was and is a misguided corporate rescue attempt by a creditor that was in fact offered what was owed to them and for reasons best known to themselves, most obviously bad faith and dark ulterior motives, decided against getting what they were owed and pursued corporate rescue nonetheless, creating a false impression of some form of distress. This, of course, is being attended to legally by our able team of legal experts and the frivolous drive will no doubt fall flat on its face in our competent courts,” added Mr Mukondiwa.
The mine has since worked diligently to repair some of the damage inflicted by the illegal horde of vandals behind the strike, who had brought critical services at the mine to their knees including the destruction of the mine clinic that served the ordinary villagers on the mine as well as the Vubachikwe Mine Clinic.
“We have gotten our certification and shall soon be reopening the mine to essential service workers and their families in a move that will bring efficient health services to our workers. We have also gotten time to spruce the clinic up during the period of closure, making it a remarkably well-equipped clinic that is fit for purpose, while also repairing the mine ambulance. We shall also be announcing a community corporate social responsibility program that will see us partnering with the local hospital as we move towards becoming an active part of the Gwanda family, as has always been our hallmark in the past,” added Mr Mukondiwa.
“With regards disbursement of the salaried workers’ pre-strike pay, we look forward to hearing from the workers both still in Gwanda and beyond that we may commence the program with those who are willing to get the issue settled and shall be releasing the details of the program’s success as it is rolled out but we already have a list of salaried workers that have signed up to being the first batch to get their monies paid out,” reiterated Mr Mukondiwa.
