Nearly 16 000 employees from Tongaat Hulett in Chiredzi have gone on strike demanding a salary increment.
The Tongaat Hulett workers went on industrial action starting Friday the 27th of November claiming the employer has flatly refused to review their salaries.
The lowest paid worker at the sugar milling company gets US$170 a month, a figure which the workers say is not realistic given the performance of the company.
President of the Zimbabwe Sugar Milling Workers Union Mr Freedom Mudungwe says they want the lowest paid worker to get at least $300 but the employer is only prepared to give a US$5 increase.
According to Mudungwe what has angered the workers is that Tongaat Hulett’s employees at the Zambia and South Africa branches are being paid more than double what their Zimbabwean counterparts are getting.
“We engaged our employer and they are willing to give us just $5. Other Tongaat employees in neighbouring countries are being paid way more than what we are getting,” said Mudungwe.
Contacted for comment Tongaat Hulett corporate affairs and communications manager Adelaide Chikunguru gave the State Media a written document which among other issues states that the minimum wage of US$170 the workers are being paid is among the highest in the agriculture and agro-processing industries.
Chikunguru says they will, however, continue to engage with the employees for an amicable solution.