When employers tell workers that they are full of s**t they probably mean it at a Bulawayo company where the proletariat (working class) are forced to clean the toilets after the company owners are done doing the did or should we say doing the number two!
A weeklong investigation by B-Metro confirmed shocking and equally disturbing allegations of abuse.
This was amid claims by employees and others that were fired at Bulk Commodities Private Limited owned by Pakistani Salman Shahzad and family for refusing to clean up their excreta without protective clothing.
Workers who were not passive enough to accept the abuse were fired and have taken their matter up with the National Employment Council (NEC) where they detailed their horrid experience
“I was instantly fired after I refused to clean my boss’ mess. What happened on the day I was fired was that my boss, after using the toilet, ordered me to clean the toilet he had messed up. It was not that they were not familiar with the procedures of using the toilet but it was just a way of frustrating us and then fire us without giving us our money,” said an employee who had previously cleaned after her boss.
Enough was enough and she reached breaking point.
“When I told him that I had been doing it for a long time despite the fact that it was not part of my job description he subsequently fired me without any benefits.
“Initially, I was doing it in fear of losing my job. There are a lot of workers who were also fired for the same offence,” said a former worker who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals since the matter is being handled by NEC.
One of the workers who also preferred anonymity for fear of victimisation said their bosses were ill-treating them and threatened them with dismissal if they refused to clean up their excreta.
“We are being mistreated by our bosses. They are forcing us to clean up their excreta including removing used up toilet papers without protective clothing. If you refuse, you risk being fired.
“Some of the female workers are also forced to do laundry at the bosses houses. It is clear that they are taking advantage of the high unemployment rate in the country to abuse us,” he said.
An NEC official Patrick Ndlovu confirmed receiving reports of the alleged abuse, although he was not at liberty to comment on the issue of cleaning up the excreta.
“Yes we are handling a case of former Bulk Commodities employees who approached our office claiming they were unfairly dismissed. They have raised a string of allegations against their former employer which we are still looking into.
“Those who are currently employed are not in a position to say anything pertaining to the alleged ill-treatment in fear of losing their jobs”, said Ndlovu.
When B-Metro visited the company on Tuesday afternoon, reporters could not talk to the manager Salman Shahzad as he was said to be in a meeting.
His brother Imlany (ABOVE) said all questions should be referred to their lawyer Nqobani Sithole.
Sithole however, refused to comment saying he was attending a funeral. He however, said Imlany was in a position to answer all the questions.
Prodded to comment Imlany said, “The case is being handled by the NEC so there is nothing I can tell you. The authorities are sorting it out and we should let the authorities do their job so there is nothing I can really say.”
Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Prisca Mupfumira said her office is yet to receive the matter.
She however, advised the affected workers to approach their offices in Bulawayo for help.
“We haven’t received the matter. I cannot only comment once our office is furnished with the details. My advice to the affected workers is that they should visit our offices in Bulawayo and lodge their complaints so that we can institute investigations and ascertain whether it’s true or not,” she said.-Online
