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Job cuts loom at CZI

Business
ZIMBABWE’S biggest business lobby organisation, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says it is retrenching its workforce as the excruciating economic environment takes a huge toll on its operations.

ZIMBABWE’S biggest business lobby organisation, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says it is retrenching its workforce as the excruciating economic environment takes a huge toll on its operations.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

In an internal communiqué signed by CZI chief executive officer, Sekai Kuvarika, the organisation said it had been affected by the economic crisis, which was exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19-induced lockdowns.

The communiqué asked staff to accept a voluntary retrenchment offer with better packages than those offered under the Labour Act.

“The structural redesign is anchored on the following principles; fit for purpose, aligning structure to industrial transformation strategy, optimum deployment of scarce resources, review of skills,” the communiqué read.

“The combination of the above, the current economic environment and the COVID-19 pandemic require that business institutions restructure and reorganise themselves differently from the way they have been doing in the past and this has to be done expeditiously. Regrettably, some jobs and positions become redundant going forward.

“The offer is open to all permanent employees including managerial employees and will run from the 21st of October 2020 to 1 November 2020. In the event that the offer is oversubscribed CZI reserves the unfettered right and discretion to decide who to retrench. That decision will be final,” said the CZI.

“In the event that this offer is not taken up at all or partially, CZI will be left with no alternative, but to move to implement a compulsory retrenchment exercise in full or partially in order to arrive at the requisite threshold in line with the principles stated above, in which event the retrenchment package will be reduced to fall within the prescribed minimum retrenchment package under the Act. The compulsory retrenchment, if carried out, will be targeted to be finalised by 30 November 2020,” said the CZI.

Kuvarika confirmed the planned job cuts on Tuesday. CZI is Zimbabwe’s largest business membership organisation with a membership that cuts across various sectors, including manufacturing, trade, transport, information technology, education and professional services.

Its membership represents 26 sub-sectors of the Zimbabwean economy.

Many listed firms and multinational companies are members of the CZI.

It was established in 1923 as the apex organisation for local industries with the mandate to foster, encourage, promote, protect and advance the sustainable growth and development of the manufacturing industry and business in the interest of economic prosperity.