Published: 06 August 2013

ANOTHER dispute has erupted at Dunlop Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd after the company slashed salaries of middle management in compensation of the lost time during a three-week strike which hit the tyre manufacturer last month.

The company is at loggerheads with middle management over a salary slash for the month of June.

Last month the company slashed salaries for workers on strike by 41% as punishment for embarking on the industrial action. The same ordeal is said to have also affected middle managers who claimed to have not participated in the industrial action.

The company's secretary Mbongeni Mkwananzi declined to shed light on the issue.

"No comment," Mkwananzi said before cutting off the phone.

The three-week  industrial action  ended last week after the  Labour Court ruled that the strike by Dunlop Zimbabwe workers was illegal. The court ruled that the workers should pick up their tools upon receiving its order.

Dunlop workers were supposed to have given their employer a 14-day notice before the industrial action.

The strike started on July 12 after management reportedly failed to honour a ruling from an arbitrator giving the company 14 days to negotiate for a salary increase with workers.

The lowest paid worker at the tyre manufacturing company earns a gross salary of $108 a month. Workers are now pushing for at least $250 as minimum wage.

However, management has refused to entertain their proposals saying the company was facing serious financial problems.

Justice Mercy Matshanga, in her ruling, said the workers could not challenge the deductions while management could also not take disciplinary action for their job boycott.

Dunlop employs over 300 people and has been struggling to pay their salaries since dollarisation.
- southerneye

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