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Most council institutions were affected by the strike.

 

The workers are demanding to be paid their outstanding salaries which the council has not paid for the past three months.

Most affected was the health department as there were no clinic staff to attend to patients at most clinics dotted around the city.

The Zimbabwe Urban Councils Workers’ Union (ZUCWU) leaders met council management late in the afternoon but the meeting reportedly failed to produce results, prompting the union to advise its members to continue with the strike today.

The union had sent a letter spelling out workers’ demands to management.

The workers drawn from across all grades, between grades one and 16, except for the management, gathered at about 8am at the Revenue Hall and Tower Block grounds where they waited to get a response about their demands from the management.

As the day progressed, they could be seen moving away from the “prohibited” lawn where they were sitting in the morning to areas around the Revenue Hall and Tower Block while others sat under trees as they waited impatiently for their outstanding salaries.

Health staff from council clinics was also seen in the crowd and patients were reportedly being turned away by security guards at the clinics as there was noone to attend to them.

A visit by Chronicle to some of the council premises in the afternoon showed that there was either slow or no service delivery.

Some of those spoken to said they were disappointed by the local authority as it did not take people’s health seriously.

“I came here at 8am hoping to be served as usual but to my surprise, there was noone to assist us. As we continued waiting, we were then told that nurses were on strike and we should go back home. Honestly, this is dangerous as you can see I am pregnant and was coming for a checkup,” said a woman who identified herself as MaNdlovu at Maqhawe Clinic in Nkulumane 12.

Some residents said the council should pay the workers because the strike would lead to a health hazard.

“People were just going in but there was noone to serve them. If really the workers are on strike then the council should do something,” said a resident in Pumula South suburb.

The situation was the same at Nkulumane Clinic in Nkulumane 5 and Entumbane Housing Office.

Another resident in North End suburb said it was not fair for them to suffer because of the squabbles between council and its workers.

Some of the suburbs like Paddonhurst, Romney Park, Sunnyside and North End were without water reportedly because of a pipe burst in one of the suburbs.

The residents said if the strike continued they would be without the precious liquid for a long time because there would be noone to fix the pipe.

“Sokusemakhaya lapha. We have nothing to do with their squabbles; all we want is service delivery. We hear that there is a burst pipe and who will fix it when people are on strike?” said a resident of Paddonhurst, who was fetching water at a borehole pump along Rudd Avenue in North End.

Workers expressed their disgruntlement about the conduct of their employer, saying the council was not concerned about their welfare.

“Surely, how do they expect us to survive? We were last paid in January and we do not even know when they want to pay us. This is why we will continue pressing for our demands because this is the language they understand.

“They should also stop their system of staggering the salaries because if they pay us according to our grades, that means other grades will be paid in August or even at the end of the year,” said an employee on condition of anonymity.

Another worker said she was tired of being made to wait for money that was not coming.

In an interview, ZUCWU Bulawayo branch secretary Mr Nkosiyabo Masuku said yesterday was payday for April and nothing had been said about their salaries.

“Today is our pay day and that is why we are gathered here to demand our outstanding salaries,” he said.

ZUCWU secretary-general Mr Moses Mahlangu said there was no going back on the strike.

“They have been telling us they are in a meeting and we will be patient because we want a response to our demands,” said Mr Mahlangu.

“All we want is payment of our outstanding salaries. We also do not want the idea of slashing 40 percent of salaries since we have heard they want to cut salaries for those in grades four to 16 because that is a divide and rule strategy, meant to silence those between grades one and three who are the majority. If nothing is done, people will definitely make a decision to continue pressing for their money.”

Recently, a statement from ZUCWU revealed that 12 out of 23 urban councils were in salary arrears, with the town of Redcliff having reportedly gone for more than two years without paying its workers.

Mr Mahlangu said he was compiling information from all the towns to ascertain those that have complied.

By the time of going to Press, the council had not responded to questions e-mailed to the public relations department in the morning.