The Zimbabwe Revenue And Allied Workers Trade Union ZIMRATU is appalled by the conduct of the newly appointed Zimbabwe Revenue Authority board chairperson Callisto Jokonya and his failure to provide leadership on critical issues affecting the revenue authority.

ZIMRATU is also worried by Jokonya’s wanton attacks on collective bargaining processes whereby he threatened not to review workers’ salaries until they rid themselves of corruption and direct attacks on individuals for being members of the union and leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

His displays of arrogance by refusing to entertain questions from employees and unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against employees boarders on victimization to silence workers against raising grievances. ZIMRATU would like to make it clear to Jokonya that collective bargaining processes cannot be dictated but are a product of mutual negotiations.

We do not take such attacks lightly as they are meant to instil fear among workers leaders and eventually the membership in general. Any attack on trade union leaders is an attack on our stomachs and livelihoods as workers.

His utterances that fighting corruption, reviewing workers conditions of service in light of the prevailing economic challenges and that educating taxpayers to be tax compliant lacked substance, are worrisome.