Hundreds of Mazowe Mine employees have reportedly been rendered jobless after the company was put under care and maintenance.
Mazowe Mine is part of the Metallon Corporation group which includes How Mine, Mazowe Mine, Shamva and Redwing Mine.
Sources said that the employees have been given three months notices pending dismissal.
“Workers have been given three months notices pending dismissal. The workers are now rendered jobless and will be waiting for their packages in five months,” a source said.
Efforts to get a comment from Metallon proved fruitless late Saturday.
However, in a letter reportedly signed by Acting Managing Director Joseph Chifamba confirmed that workers at Mazowe Mine are being retrenched.
The letter addressed to workers read, “Please be advised that due to restructuring, your position has become redundant and, accordingly, you are hereby given three months’ notice of termination of your employment.”
“The notice period will run from 1st September 2018 to 30th November 2018. In line with the Labour Act, a retrenchment package is being negotiated in the Works Council.”
Unconfirmed reports also claimed that 200 workers at Shamva Gold Mine had also been served with notices to terminate employment.
Despite posting positive production and financial results for the past two years, the mining group has been facing challenges that include non-payment of salaries amid allegations of externalisation of mining proceeds which deprived the company of working capital.
The gold mining group is currently facing allegations of externalising over $30 million.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary general Japhet Moyo, said “If these reports are a reflection of what is happening in the mining sector particularly in these mentioned companies then it is a sad situation.”
“Remember that during the election period we were being told of mega deals and that one company in the mining industry was going to employ 15,000 workers.
“This development, if confirmed, is contrary to what we were being promised.”
Moyo added; “We hope this has nothing to do with the disputed elections; something which, as labour, we spoke about before the vote that this country cannot afford another disputed election outcome.”
