Working conditions at NRZ deteriorate

Published: 12 July 2017

WORKERS at the moribund National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) are working under dangerous conditions as the cash-strapped parastatal continues to struggle to acquire the necessary safety clothing and equipment.

NRZ is battling severe under-capitalisation and has gone for several months without paying its workers owing to a worsening cash flow crisis.

Morale at the parastatal has plumbed to its lowest ebb, with working conditions becoming hazardous to its employees.

The Railways Artisans Union (Rau) is bitter that NRZ management is failing to prioritise workers' safety and welfare.

"At the moment, NRZ workers are not safe at all," said Rau president Edmore Africa.

"We do not have safety clothing. Again, if you have not been paid for 17 months and you are working on dangerous equipment, clearly one will not be able to concentrate on his or her job.

"The situation is dangerous to the workers," he added.

He said this while addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Media Centre last week.

While the NRZ board and management are stepping up effort to scout for fresh capital to reboot the parastatal, Rau is adamant that they must not forsake the sanctity of life.

"We are very elated about the recapitalisation because it has a potential of bringing in much-needed working capital and hopefully our parked salaries will also be unlocked," Africa said.

"The recapitalisation, it would seem, will also bring a restructuring of the workforce or even retrenchment and as a trade union we are very worried by the threat of our members losing work.

"But from where we stand, we believe the NRZ actually has an artisan shortage which we feel should be addressed because at the moment some of our artisans are actually overworked as it is," Africa said.

The NRZ workers also expressed their concern at the way government has apparently failed to appreciate their commitment to the company which for long has failed to pay them on time while also failing to improve working conditions.

"We are also disturbed by the fact that sometimes we hear ministers advising Parliament that NRZ workers are always idle and playing checkers, commonly referred to as draft or tsoro or intsoro.

"We really do not know where the ministers get this but as a trade union we strongly condemn such kind of talk which demoralises workers and puts them on edge especially during this critical time when we are looking for investors."
- dailynews

Tags: NRZ,