ZBC employees appeal to Mugabe over salaries
In a letter dated 30 May 2013, the employees said they were failing to buy food, pay rentals and school fees for their children because they were not being paid by the country's sole broadcasting authority.
The letter, which was not signed for fear of victimisation, was copied to the Minister of Media, Information and Publicity, Webster Shamu and ZBC management.
The employees said the management was arrogant whenever they asked for their salaries and better working conditions.
"What this means is for three months we have not paid our rentals, utility bills and accounts, school fees for our children, food for our families and not to mention our extended families," wrote the employees.
"The truth of the matter is you have a demoralised and impoverished staff complement at ZBC whose basic worker's rights continue to be violated despite the fact that it is us who keep the machine running," said the employees.
Head of ZBC public relations, Sivukile Simango said he could not comment because he was on leave. Repeated efforts to get a comment from Shamu proved futile as he claimed to be in meetings for the greater part of yesterday.
Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba and Muchechetere could also not be reached for comment.
The appeal by the ZBC employees comes at a time Mugabe has been accused of spending millions of tax-payers' money on international trips.
Management getting hefty allowances
The employees claim that they are sometimes given what they described as 'paltry' US$60 and US$100 advances on different days of the months for their sustenance.
ZBC management has on several occasions been accused of awarding themselves heft weekly allowances running into thousands of dollars every month while junior and middle management go home empty-handed.
The management has however denied that they getting huge allowances.
The workers alleged that ZBC also forced the employees to form a workers credit union in which they were contributing against their will.
Source: allAfrica.
