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Rugare Dhobbie

Leonard Ncube recently in Hwange
HWANGE Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) has issued a seven-day notice to scores of former workers and widows to vacate the company’s houses.

Former employees who include retirees and pensioners as well as widows of ex-workers were served with summonses on Monday this week giving them seven days to vacate or show-cause why they should not be evicted.

According to the summonses that have been filed at the magistrates’ courts, the defendants should have vacated the company houses on the day they left work or when their husbands who were employed by the company died, in terms of the employment contract.

However, the same contract seen by Chronicle Business states that the ex-workers should vacate after three years and after being paid their terminal or any other benefits, which haven’t been paid.

Some are pensioners who retired after serving the company for up to 50 years and have not been paid their pensions and benefits while others are families of former workers who served many years before the died. They are still staying in company houses waiting for the payment of their benefits, outstanding salaries and savings.

“You are hereby summoned that you do within seven days after service of this summon upon you, enter or cause to be entered with me and also the plaintiff an appearance to defence the claim of Hwange Colliery Company Limited,” reads part of the summons.

The coal miner is seeking an order to evict the defendants and all those claiming occupation of all company houses as well as that each pays $25 per month back dated to the day they stopped being employees of the company.

The $25 is for holding over damages despite the occupants claiming that they paid Z$2000 when they moved in. The company wants the defendants to pay interest at the prescribed rate as well as cost of suit.

A Chronicle Business news crew visited Hwange on Wednesday and spoke to some of the affected who vowed not to vacate the houses until they are given their benefits.

“From our understanding we are supposed to move out after three years and they should give us three months’ notice as well. We don’t know why they are also demanding $25 yet we paid a refundable deposit fee,” said one widow.

Another said: “We can’t leave because we haven’t been paid our benefits. If they want us to leave they should pay us and we won’t have any reason to remain there. This is a violating of our rights as widows especially after our husbands worked for more than 30 years yet we are being denied the right for our children to go to school and lead better lives.”

“Some are owed more than $300 000 inclusive of outstanding salaries, benefits and pension. The company early this year introduced a scheme of arrangement where it paid its workers seven percent of their outstanding salaries and undertook to pay the remainder in 36 months starting this month.

HCCL corporate affairs manager, Mrs Rugare Dhobhie had not responded to questions emailed to her yesterday.—@ncubeleon