'RioZim not retrenching'

'RioZim not retrenching'
Published: 08 January 2018
ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange listed miner, RioZim, has refuted reports it intends to retrench scores of workers at its recently acquired Dalny Mine saying that it had infact employed new people it the once closed gold mine.

Corporate affairs executive Wilson Gwatiringa said the diversified miner had acquired Palatial Gold Investments, which houses the Dalny Mine in Chakari through what was essentially asset purchase agreement.

The transaction entailed purchase of all of Palatial Gold Investments' assets including plant, 1 456 houses, amenities and mineral rights (claims). This, he said, excluded former employees of the gold mining entity.

Mr Gwatiringa's remarks last Friday follow a report in The Herald last week, which claimed that 900 RioZim workers faced retrenchment while 350 families faced eviction from the previously closed gold mine.

"To the best of our information, the said employees are former employees of Falcon Gold. Furthermore, the transaction did not include the assumption of Falcon God's obligations to its former employees.

"Furthermore, the transaction did not include the assumption of Falcon Gold's obligations to its former employees.

"The mine had long ceased operations when the transaction was concluded and was therefore not a going concern and it had very employees who were still working under a care and maintenance arrangement. There were 152 employees (52 permanent and 100 short contract, as at June 2017," Mr Gwatiringa said.

He said since the Dalny Mine was reopened, it had been carrying out some open cast mining and exploration and had actually increased the number of employees.

"Currently the total number of employees stands at 479 and there is no retrenchment going on of any RioZim employees. Employment numbers have actually increased by 357 from June 2017 to date. The additional employees include 195 former employees of Falcon Gold," he said.

Mr Gwatiringa said the challenge RioZim has been facing was that 180 of its employees were staying in Kadoma and were having to commute to and from work on a daily basis, which both costly is and time consuming.

"In December 2017, through the company's independent property managers, the company gave notice to 190 occupants currently occupying the company's house to vacate in order to create space for our employees and their families who desperately needed accommodation at the mine.

"Over 1 300 mine houses are occupied by people who do not work for the mine. This entire process is being handled professionally, legally and with sensitivity to individual circumstances of the affected parties.

"It is clearly evident that the allegation of a mass employee retrenchment by RioZim is totally false and the alleged arbitrary eviction of 350 families is grossly inaccurate and amounts to dramatised version of the facts on the ground," Mr Gwatiringa said.

"We trust that this clarifies the position and we confirm that as RioZim Limited, we remain committed to creating employment and positively impacting the lives of all those who reside within communities," he said.
- zimpapers
Tags: RioZim,

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