Kingstons workers “sleep-in” at work as government fails to meet pay demands

By Henry Makiwa
26 November 2007

Workers at a government-owned company have taken a bizarre form of protest at poor pay by sleeping-in at work.
At least 70 workers from Kingstons Limited, which specialises in stationery and music, have been sleeping at the Kingstons’ head office for a week now. The workers, from eleven branches across Harare, are protesting at poor working conditions and a paltry salary.
According to reports, the Kingstons’ employees have converted the company’s forth floor offices, at the corner of Leopold Takawira Street and Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, into a “dormitory”. A nearby gymnasium is said to be providing them with toilet and bath facilities.
Kingstons has interests in books, music, stationery and newspaper distribution. Its fortunes have been failing since the government acquired the company from its private owners in 2003, and started using it as a tool to expand its propaganda campaign against the opposition.
The workers are accusing the government of paying them “slave wages” as they can hardly cover transport costs with their monthly wages. They reportedly earn as little as Z$11 million a month, when transport costs each worker an average of Z$20 million.
According to The Standard newspaper, the workers wrote to appeal to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to "restore order in our organisation" or face a “sleep in”. Government is yet to respond to the demands except to offer some lip service promising to “look into the issue”.
Trade unionists have accused the government of turning a blind eye to workers amidst a harsh economic environment. According to statistics released by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the dilemma of Kingstons workers represents the plight of over 80% of workers who can no longer survive on their salaries.
Meanwhile the government has said it is unable to raise salaries to end
a strike of magistrates and state prosecutors that has crippled the court system.

According to the state owned Sunday Mail newspaper the Public Service Commission said magistrates were classed as civil servants whose salaries were only due to be reviewed early next year.

Other civil service pay demands have been put off, after the government said it had run out of money in the current budget to meet pay increases in the crumbling, hyperinflationary economy.

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