By 
Simbisa Brands Limited, owners of Chicken Inn, Bakers Inn, Pizza Inn, Nandos, Creamy Inn and several other brands under its armpit recently recorded a whopping USD3 million in a space of twelve days, TechMagTV can exclusively reveal.
By Tongai Mwenje and Crucial Kuwanga
The enormous revenue collected by one of the biggest employer in the country makes one to assume that the firm’s employees are also paid handsomely for the job well done.
Unfortunately not with Simba Brands Limited, despite cashing in USD dollars the business continues to pay employees peanuts in RTGS value.
In an investigation carried by TechMag TV, general employees are paid way less below Poverty Datum Line of ZWL$20 000.
One employee who has been with the company for more than six years last month got a paltry ZWL$ 5 800 after some deductions.
Speaking to this publication on condition of anonymity, the employee said, “We are just rendering our services to this company because we have no other sources of income to feed our families. The money we are currently getting is not even enough to buy our monthly groceries and imagine that is where our transport and accommodation money is. How can you survive under such conditions? Last month I got paid ZWL$5 800, imagine. Who does that to a hardworking employee?
The company in the first 12 days of November 2020 recorded a total of ZWL$377 419 321 which is equivalent to USD3 023 999 using their internal conversion rate.
This was collected from the Northern Region outlets only.
A mini financial report in our possession show that Kwekwe was the highest after recording a total of ZWL$18 196 626 which is equivalent to USD142 401 while Throg recorded ZWL$906 170.
Mr Baker 5th Avenue, Road port and Angwa recorded nothing.
Despite all these huge revenue collections, the employees who work day and night to achieve these results are wallowing in abject poverty.
The workers have on several occasions tried to negotiate an upward review of salaries but unfortunately to no avail.
The last meeting the company had with the workers committee was held in October 2020 where they agreed the lowest earner would take home ZWL$9000.
Shockingly, the company sullied the agreement by sticking to its previous peanuts.
Last month, the Catering and Hospitality Industry Workers Union of Zimbabwe (CHIWUZ) tried to mediate on behalf of the impoverished employees.
The association through a letter dated November 27, 2020 gleaned by TechMag TV wrote to the company’s Human Resource Manager requesting them to adjust employees’ salaries in line with the Poverty Datum Line.
CHIWUZ proposed that since Simbisa Brands Limited is the big brother in the industry should pay USD70 and RTGS of $14 000 as a starting point for the lowest graded employee.
Simbisa Brands Limited’s competitors Eat n Lick and Chicken Slice are paying employees in both USD and RTGS.
Investigations show that Eat and Lick is paying RTGS$ 10 000.00 and $50.00 USD while Chicken slice is paying its employees RTGS 14 000.00 and $45.00 USD.
“We are here under the wish to direct or point out some of the areas we would like to drive your attention to as not fully addressed issues as presented by the workers’ committee to this Trade Union.
We would like to thank the management on behalf of workers for the extra mile it has gone in providing some hampers to the staff, cash payments and as transport money, quality uniforms, and other important privileges to restore the worthiness of workers thumps up for that.
We are the worker representative and we have noted with regret the deterstating standards that this company is fast diving into this. Simbisa Brands was once a shining or flying high brand but now we are sorry to say that it has lost its worthiness that we use to know because of poor remuneration to its hardworking employees,” reads part of CHIWUZ letter.
“We are also imploring the company to consider paying a part of the salary in USD currency as most of the companies are doing.
As a major player we are proposing a $70USD and RTGS of $14 000 as a starting point for the lowest graded employee,” the association added.
However the just ended month saw several employees getting less than ZWL$9000 plus compounded taxes.
“I am failing to understand how the company arrived at my net salary. There is now a new 2.5% tax unlike in the past where we used to be taxed I am sure 1.5%,” another employee who also spoke on condition of anonymity questioned the company’s criteria of coming up with new taxes.
The company is into a profit-sharing scheme which the top officials are not showing any transparency in how it is distributed.
The scheme was supposed to be benefitting all workers and it used to be on their payslip but later it was removed and it seems to be benefitted by the elite workers leaving out the toiling workers.
“The Company has a profit-sharing scheme which the company is not showing any transparency in how it is distributed. It seems this scheme is only benefiting its top-level management. We feel the company needs to come out clean and explain to its employees or if the scheme is now only for the Elite workers and leave out toiling workers. This scheme used to appear on the payslips but unfortunately now it has been removed. We do not know by who or why? CHIWUZ letter revealed.
The reason for its disappearance from the payslip remains a mystery as employees are afraid of questioning the move for fear of expulsion.
Meanwhile, the company recently donated ZWL$10 million to Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) in order to capacitate the state owned broadcaster’s operations.
Comments