By Abel Zhakata
A mass exodus of workers has rocked Mbada Diamonds Mine at Chiadzwa where about 80 employees are reported to have tendered their resignations within a month in apparent protest against a 50 percent slash in salaries and a litany of poor working conditions.
The largest diamond mining company at Chiadzwa employing over 1 700 workers slashed salaries nearly two months ago, in unclear circumstances. Critical staffers like geologists, engineers and senior administrators have also reportedly thrown in the towel.
Reports from the diamond plant suggest that more workers are following suit and the numbers will soon hit three-digit figures. Most of the employees are contract workers whose contracts expire at the end of the year.
Some of the disgruntled workers who contacted The Manica Post said they tendered resignations because the salaries they were now receiving were too little to support their families.
“I have just resigned and I am waiting to receive my package. Two months ago we were shocked to see our salaries slashed by more than 50 percent. When all was well I used to earn around $800 per month, but now I am taking home less than $400.
“I accessed a loan from the bank and I am paying my monthly instalments from that $400,” said a worker who requested not to be named. He said he was told to come and collect his package in three months’ time.
A human resources officer at the plant said they were receiving numerous resignation letters from workers on a daily basis.
“The workers are disgruntled and they are resigning in large numbers. Most of them are citing the reduced salaries as the main reason they are leaving their jobs. What it means is that very soon we will have a human resources crisis,” he said.
The company’s senior public relations officer, Mr Tafadzwa Chiremba, professed ignorance about the resignations. He confirmed that the salaries were slashed.
“Yes, the salaries were slashed, but I don’t know of the resignations you are talking about. E-mail your questions and we will respond to them,” he said.
Efforts to contact Mbada corporate communication executive Mr George Manyaya were fruitless at the time of going to print as his mobile phone was unreachable.
The issue of the salary slashing has become a chorus in Mutare and surrounding areas where most of the workers hail from, as they appeal to responsible authorities to intervene and arrest the situation.
“It’s hard to work at the mine because of the adverse weather conditions there. During winter the area is extremely cold while during summer you can hardly stand the heat. We are working day and night mining expensive diamonds but you are told that the salaries have been slashed by 50 percent.
“We had modelled the way we live around the initial salaries we were getting and when that money is slashed by half, how do you expect us to survive?” said another employee.
Apart from the low salaries, the workers said they were now getting an unbalanced diet at the plant.
“The food that we are now eating is sub-standard.
“We are constantly eating sadza and beans unlike before when we used to eat different meals. Our medical aid is not working because there is no money.”
Last month the company reportedly fired its chief administration officer, Major Mahlangu, on allegations of failing to liquidate a multi-million-rand debt owed to a supplier – Gecko.
Sources said Mbada has of late been struggling financially and the salary slash was a way of trying to keep the company on track.
In May this year, businesses in Mutare said they were owed millions of dollars by diamond mining companies in Chiadzwa who were failing to pay goods and services supplied.
They told Deputy Minister of Finance Dr Samuel Undenge that some of the debts were more than a year old.
Workers at other mines like Anjin, Marange Resources and DMC have also gone for months without receiving their salaries as their companies have drastically reduced production levels in unclear circumstances. Manica Post
