Zambian Breweries blames confusion over merger on employees

Zambian Breweries blames confusion over merger on employees
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe and Henry Sinyangwe
Sun 11 Apr. 2010, 04:01 CAT

ZAMBIA Breweries Plc has blamed employees who refused to consent to transfer of their employment contracts for the current controversy that has surrounded its merger programme.

About 225 employees out of 305 who were affected in the consolidation process consented to having their contracts transferred into Zambian Breweries Plc.

Zambian Breweries Group this month announced that it had amalgamated Zambian Breweries Plc, Zambia Bottlers Limited, Copperbelt Bottling Company and Northern Breweries into one company - Zambian Breweries Plc.

But some of the affected workers at Zambia Bottlers demanded that they be paid their terminal benefits following the decision to incorporate the company into Zambian Breweries.

The workers stated that management was forcing employees to sign letters of agreement, which they did not even understand.

But Zambian Breweries Plc director for corporate affairs Chibamba Kanyama said all employees from the three subsidiary companies had been guaranteed of their jobs and no employee was to have their conditions of service negatively affected.

Kanyama said all employees were individually given an opportunity to consent to have their contracts of employment transferred from the affected companies into Zambian Breweries Plc.

“They all employees received letters Consent Letters to Transfer Employee Contract well in advance so that they could read and be able to follow-up with management and clarify areas on which they were not clear to help them make informed decisions,” Kanyama said in response to a press query. “In terms of employee/employer relations management sought both guidance and approval from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security who subsequently sent labour officers to witness the consent procedure. By the consolidation date, a total of 225 employees out of 305 who were affected in the consolidation process consented to having their contracts transferred into Zambian Breweries plc.”

Kanyama stressed that by merging the three companies under the Zambian Breweries Plc, the employment status for all employees remained unchanged.

He blamed “few employees who refused to consent to the transfer of their employment contracts” for the controversy that has rocked the transfer process.

“In short, what this consolidation means in layman terms and to the workers is that the name of the employer has changed while everything else remains the same,” he said. “It is in this respect…management is surprised to learn that the process of changing names has generated unwarranted reactions and publicity by those who did not agree with the consolidation of the companies. We believe this explanation will bring to rest the negative sentiments peddled by the few employees who refused to consent to the transfer of their employment contracts about the nature of this consolidation and resultant effect to employees.”

Zambian Breweries Plc announced the merger which was expected to bring about maximisation of synergies and added value for Zambian Breweries shareholders.

Currently these subsidiaries solely rely on Zambian Breweries for shared accounting processes, VAT (Value Added Tax) registration, supplier negotiations and invoicing.