Some members, such as cane cutters,currently earn about $100 per month – but they have no effective way of engaging in a meaningful collective bargaining exercise with their employer.
Simbarashe Nyemba, Freddy Madungwe and Admore Hwarare have all taken each other to court claiming to be the legitimate leader of the union – which derives most of its membership from workers employed by Tongaat Hulett, the country’s sole sugar milling giant.
“The legal battle has negatively affected workers as the employer is just waiting for a legitimate leader to emerge following the dispute, “said Nyemba. “We believe that such cases should be dealt with as a matter of urgency as this is affecting the welfare of workers who are our members.”
On the other hand Hwarare, who is the self-styled founder of the union, is claiming that no one has the power to remove him as leader as he had fought lonely battles for the rights of workers in the lowveld sugar industry.
“I formed this union and no-one has the power or capacity to remove me from office,” said Hwarare. “I want to be the life president of this union and most workers are agreeable to this," he said.
“I made life easier for workers here in the lowveld, and for them to know that there are salary negotiations, it’s because of me. I also worked hard to make sure that several blacks entered sugar cane production. My agenda is still unfinished and no-one can talk about my dismissal from the union,” he said.
Madungwe, who is also fighting for the presidency, refused to comment on the leadership wrangle saying it was now before the courts. Most of the cane cutters are unhappy with the current legal battle. Some told The Zimbabwean they would rather choose a new leader – apart from the three who are gunning for the leadership of the union.
Some of the workers said they were not happy with the union's subscription fees currently pegged at $5 per member per month. “Imagine we are earning as little as $100 a month and there is no-one to negotiate for salary adjustments because of the leadership wrangle,” said cane cutter Naison Mugeya.
“My family cannot survive and we are calling on government to intervene in order to make our lives easier, “he added.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development said it was looking at banning some unions that were ripping off workers. Deputy Minister responsible for cropping, Davies Marapira, said he had received concerns from workers over the high subscription fees they were forced to pay.
"We are saying the money demanded by unions is far beyond the reach of many workers, so government will soon ban unions that make life difficult for workers whom they are supposed to protect and represent," he said.
ZISMIWU has over 19,000 members.
Post published in: News