Maravi

(STICKY) Zamtel retrenchees query packages, accuse Rupiah of betrayal

COMMENT - This should ring in the end of the neoliberal idiocy called privatisation. The government is tasked with running the parastatals, and run them well. If they won't, they must resign. Most of the companies in China and Taiwan are parastatals, and they are moving ahead leaps and bounds. And on top of that, the sale of ZAMTEL was not even privatisation, because the buyer is just another parastatal, owned by the Libyan government. This neoliberaly idiocy must end now, and we must turn toward Demand Side Economics. Let's put money in people's pockets, lower lending rates for capital goods and SMEs to below 5%, and start running parastatals in a professional manner - no more unprofessional hiring practices and political interference.

Zamtel retrenchees query packages, accuse Rupiah of betrayal
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe and Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Wed 08 Sep. 2010, 04:01 CAT

FORMER Zamtel workers in Chingola have challenged the National Union of Communication Workers (NUCW) to explain why retrenched workers are being given one month's basic salary in lieu of notice and not the 20 months as earlier agreed.

And the workers have charged that President Rupiah Banda and the line ministries that were involved in the sale of Zamtel have continued lying on state television that ex-Zamtel workers have been paid their dues.

In an interview in Kitwe yesterday, the workers, who sought anonymity, said they felt betrayed by the union leaders who initially assured them that they would be given 20 months' basic salary in lieu of notice but were surprised that only one month's basic salary in lieu of notice was reflecting on their pay statements.

The former workers said they were not happy with the manner in which the government, the union and Zamtel management were handling their case. They complained that the matter was handled with a lot of insincerity.

“The union leaders assured us that we will be given 20 months' basic salary in lieu of notice as was the case in 1996 when some employees were retrenched but this is not the case. When you look at my pay statement, it’s only one month given; that’s why some of our friends are going away with mediocre benefits. We want the union and government to explain because we feel betrayed,” one of the retrenched workers said.

They further said President Banda and other government officials had continued to cheat the public that the workers were going home smiling because of the good packages they received when monies had not been deposited in their respective accounts.

“This is very frustrating. President Banda was on television some few days ago that we were sent home smiling because of the hefty packages. If we went home smiling, then why are we here complaining? This whole transition is not being handled properly, and the President is betraying his own people to please the so-called investors,” another worker said.

“This is unacceptable and we are not going to tolerate it anymore. We need money in the banks, not mere rhetoric that they have paid us when in fact not.”

They further insisted that the government, with Zamtel management, had continued abrogating the agreement signed in August that stipulated that the ex-workers would be paid their benefits within 24 hours of receipt of their retrenchment letters.

But when contacted for comment, NUCW president Patrick Kaonga said the one month basic salary in lieu of notice was negotiated for and agreed upon between the union and management.

He said the benefits and other payments of retrenched Zamtel workers were in line with the signed collective agreement.

“You ask those who are complaining why they have been given such packages. Retrenchment packages are being given according to the years one worked at Zamtel and the position. Even you there at The Post you cannot compare your retrenchment package to that of your boss. These are benefits, and they are different according to the grade,” Kaonga said.

He said some workers went away with small packages because of debts to the company and other financial institutions.

Kaonga said arguments from some quarters that the former workers were supposed to be given three months or 20 months in lieu of notice were baseless because the issue of lieu of notices was a “negotiable matter and not a constitutional mandate”.

Kaonga said the union was doing everything possible to ensure that all retrenched workers got benefits accordingly. And Zamtel has closed the Sesheke telephone exchange, and the keys to the facility have been handed over to the area manager in Livingstone.

According to highly placed sources in Zamtel, the number of technical staff running most telephone exchanges in rural areas had been reduced.

“We just saw a vehicle being dispatched to Sesheke where the technicians went and locked the exchange, and the keys are here with the area manager,” one of the sources said.

“We can assure you that there is going to be a big problem with regar to communication because major institutions are being affected due to faults which are not being checked. It is not only Sesheke, a lot of other exchanges in rural Zambia such as Nakonde, Chilubi have been closed.”

The sources said the collection of revenue could be greatly affected in rural areas if the situation was left unchecked.

“If you went to Sesheke Zamtel exchange now, you will be greeted by a padlock; and if you want to pay your bills, you have to travel to Livingstone,” the source said. Zamtel area manager Batahba Ndiyoi said the Sesheke office would be inspected on a weekly basis and personnel in the sales department would soon be sent to the area.

“The operations of the switch is operating normally. It is the sales band that we need to attend to as the staff there are among the affected people during this transition. We shall be sending people there on a weekly basis to check on the switch,” he said.

Ndiyoi said the office was not closed and people could still make phone calls.

Labels: CORRUPTION, NUCW, RUPIAH BANDA, SALARIES, ZAMTEL

posted by MrK @ 5:41 PM