MINES and Mining Development deputy minister Fred Moyo has been brought before the labour courts over failure to pay INEZ Mine workers salaries and wages over the past seven months.
BLESSED MHLANGA STAFF REPORTER
In an affidavit deposed at the Labour Court in Kadoma on June 30, 147 workers employed at the mine claim that INEZ Mine owned by Moyo has failed or neglected to pay wages and salaries since January when he took over the gold mine.
The workers are demanding $190 000 in wages excluding statutory payments and medical cover claiming the deputy minister deducted these from salaries, but failed to remit the money to service providers.
“The amount due to workers for the period March 2013 to date is $190 000 for wages only and as for statutory deductions INEZ deducted the said amounts, but never remitted to the respective owners,” part of the application reads.
Moyo confirmed that he was having trouble settling workers’ wages and salaries, but put the blame on the economy, which he said was performing badly.
“We are not the only mine which is struggling with its bills, even big mines are failing to pay salaries.
“The economy is very depressed, at times we don’t have electricity and this affects production,” Moyo said.
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He said the falling prices of gold on the global market had not made things any easier for those in the sector.
“Gold is now trading at $1 300 an ounce down from $1800. That means for every ounce produced we lose $500, so we lose money and also some of the debts were inherited from the previous owners of the mine,” he said.
Moyo said he wanted to pay his workers. He also had to keep the mine open and if a balance is not struck he could be forced to shut it down.
According to the National Mine Workers Union of Zimbabwe (NMWUZ), Moyo took over the mine from Australians through the indigenisation and economic empowerment policy.
“Before he took over, mine workers used to get their salaries and we never had problems, but now things have changed. Our members have been thrown into poverty,” NMWUZ president Tawanda Mugwira said.
