Radar takeover storm . . . Workers reject $1m ‘empowerment’ offer

By Prosper Ndlovu

BULAWAYO – The 228-strong workforce of Radar Metal Industries (Pvt) Ltd has rejected a $1 million “empowerment offer” by management to take over the troubled Bulawayo-headquartered company.

The giant engineering firm, a division of Sedan Chair Trading (Pvt) Ltd, is at logger heads with workers who are demanding payment of severance packages and pension contributions running into millions of dollars before any negotiations on a takeover.

Unable to continue running the firm, company directors have reportedly offered workers the option to take over the company and run it under what they term “employee share ownership scheme transfer of assets”.

The company runs subsidiaries – National Fencing, Radar Casting in Gweru, Hogarth’s and Home Furniture. It also has branches in Harare and Mutare.

Documents shown to Business Chronicle indicate the directors have resolved (reasons not given) to cede company assets worth about $1 million to workers.

These include plant and machinery valued at $618,550, furniture and fittings valued at $23,500, raw materials worth $311,000 and motor vehicles valued at $47,500.

“The shareholders have seen it prudent that they create an employees’ ownership scheme where employees assume ownership of the assets of the company and run it as their own,” reads one of the documents from shareholders.

Workers, however, feel the takeover offer is not sincere and accused management of handing them a “dead horse”.

They alleged the offered assets were obsolete and accused directors of stripping the firm of all usable equipment.

“We don’t want this offer as workers. If they can’t run the company they should give us our money first,” fumed workers’ committee chairperson Ephraim Mafukidze.

“We can’t swap our services for dilapidated assets that are not guaranteed to produce anything. We see this as a deliberate ploy to avoid giving us packages, pension contributions and gratuity benefits.”

The Production manager, a J Tshuma, could not comment on the issue.

“I’m not allowed to speak to the Press,” said Tshuma before referring further questions to Jay Vaghmaria, one of the directors, who was said to be out of station and would be back today.

As part of the offer, noted in the documents, directors have pledged the new workers’ company shall be allowed to operate “if they so wish” from the factory premises “without paying rentals for the first three months”.

The workers insist that taking over the company is not in their best interests and would not work.

They accused management of frustrating operations at the firm to taint the country’s image and avoid paying them pensions.

“The company is doing well. Surprisingly they want to dump us in favour of assembling imported material. Some of us have been working here for up to 40 years and they want to dump us with nothing,” said John Ncube, vice chair of the workers’ Committee.

“Part of the new machinery we’re using is not included on their list of assets for takeover. We know that in two-three months, the stated machinery will break down and they want to blame us for failure.”

The workers called for government intervention saying the closure of the firm was a plot to deliberately sabotage the economy.

They also accused the NEC for Engineering of failing to defend workers’ interests after they took the matter to the industry body.

The workers expressed anger after the NEC granted the company, in a letter dated June 30, permission to cut working hours to three per week without first conducting an assessment to ascertain reasons for the move.

“These guys (NEC) are a serious let down. They seem to have connived with management to oppress us,” said Ncube.

Workers said tensions rose last year when they discovered the company was not remitting their pension contributions to Comarton, an entity that collects their money. The workers said all hell broke loose when they demanded to take their contributions to Old Mutual, a move they said angered management.

Last month, the workers wrote (copy of letter availed) to management giving them seven days to clarify pension contribution issues but did not get any response to date.

One of the documents availed indicates that only $14,060 was remitted to the pension fund through MBCA Bank in July last year.

The workers said after failing to account for the pension contributions, management then came up with a proposal to offer them rights to take over the company.

The company manufactures building material such as door and window frames, barbed, diamonds and mesh wires and exports to countries such as Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia. The Chronicle