5 November 2009
MORE than 2,500 Zamtel employees and management staff have placed themselves on temporary redundancies between now and the time the company's would-be new owners take over the company operations, the National Union for Communication Workers (NUCW) has said.
NUCW general secretary, Clement Kasonde said in an interview in Ndola yesterday that all unionised workers and management at Zamtel had resolved to consider themselves redundant depending on the company new owners' position on their status and business model for the company.
"We have resolved that there should be no sacred cows and that all employees from the managing director to the lowest ranked in Zamtel have agreed to consider themselves ready to receive their redundancy packages because the company is insolvent and there is no alternative to the decision, failure to which they risk losing out on their benefits," Mr Kasonde said.
He said all the workers were now ready to receive the redundancy packages which the union and management had agreed upon.
"The redundancy packages agreed upon by the shareholders (Government), management and the union representing the employees is the only reasonable thing which can be done considering the difficult circumstances the company is currently experiencing," Mr Kasonde said.
He said the company was insolvent such that there was need for the union and management to immediately take action in the best interest of all employees failure to which they risked losing out on receiving their packages.
A circular issued by management shows that redundancy packages included three months salaries for each year served and two months salary in lieu of notice.
The union and management have agreed to embark on a series of country-wide workshops aimed at empowering the workers with basic skills in finance management and entrepreneurship, among other things, as a way of preparing them before receiving their redundancy packages.
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