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| General Workers |
I am
sorely passionate about how the working class are treated in any given country,
utopic or otherwise. I feel I am an industrialist in my own right and am simply
transitioning into that place where I can justify these utterances. As I
studied history in my earlier years and learnt about the European Industrial
Revolution (1780 – 1850), all I could focus on, was how it affected the workers
and their welfare.
A
worker is quite simply an individual striving hard to do what he is tasked to
do for the firm’s profitability, his motivation in all this being to earn a
living for his family, more often than not, plunged in squalor. This applies to
most general workers but not limited to only these, executive managerial
positions notwithstanding. A trade
unionist I am not, but it’s a clear fact that capitalists only seek to line
their pockets with proverbial gold at the detriment of the workers. My current
rants are not misplaced, I currently came across an article I can relate to and
I have quoted it below:
“Did you know ZESA Holding
exempts 5000 of its workers and pensioners from paying
for electricity yet it costs the company
$10 million annually. It is
reported staff from the Ministry of Energy & Power Development, everyone including the minister are also exempted from paying further straining ZESA. ZESA workers who are
pensioners are entitled to $160
worth of electricity units every month while
Ministry of Energy staff is entitled
to $100 worth of units monthly.
These exemptions were revealed by Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company managing director, Eng. Julian Chinembiri while giving evidence to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy yesterday. This is
said to have angered the legislators
who were asked why ZESA could
afford to extend such benefits to former
employees and demanded the full list of
people who are exempted by next Monday.”
This
is so typical of Zimbabwe, those who are in positions of authority never take
the “scenic view from the top” to look at how impoverished their liege is. I am
a beneficiary of this ZESA ex-employee exemption. I reside in my father's
house, the subject of whom is now resident in neighboring South Africa. This
issue is a bitter pill to swallow as I can name injustices that occured to
employees who retired in the 2008 - 2010 period, of which my own father is one.
After 20years with ZESA, the man threw in the towel as he had well advanced in
years but his retirement package and pension were gobbled up by the Zim Dollar
- US Dollar transition. He was just an average, hardworking man, who ended up
with a meagre return on countless years' devotion to a defunct system. So are
we really going to take away the one benefit accruing to him, given to him
contractually as a benefit upon signing up with the then monopolist parastatal?
Please
pardon my bile-like, proliferate passion on this subject matter. I grew up in a
household where my father devoted his life to his work. A lot of individuals
only get to witness workaholism from their HD TV screens but I endured it. My
father enjoyed his work thoroughly, that he curtailed his personal time and
dedicated it to his career, which in turn rewarded him with the just promotions
he got.
On
weekends, like most male kids, I would crave to spend time with my dad who I
knew was the greatest man alive. Sad to say, the only way to achieve this was
to wake up early on a non-school day, take a bath, gobble down my breakfast and
join him as he left for work on a Saturday. Please note, my father had a
managerial position in a transport division of ZESA with numerous underlings,
he didn’t really need to be at work on a Saturday. My little brother, Ben and
I, spent many a childhood Saturdays on the premises of ZESA Central Vehicle
Workshop in Ardbennie, Harare. While most kids wasted their one school and
Church free day on wrestling and tv games, Ben and I spent ours treasure
hunting inside cars under repair, experimenting with internally networked workshop
telephones and nosing around ancient P1 computers which groaned ceaselessly,
yet never actually booted up. The treasure hunt was most spectacular when cars
belonging to ex-CEO and former executive chairman of ZESA Holdings, Dr. Sydney
Gata were part of the lot!! Such plunders
me hearties!!
My
current persona was moulded by these bygone experiences and it was this
particular catalyst which spurred me to become an entrepreneur, for employees
gave their entire lives for meaningless remuneration and empty recompenses. My
business values, ethics and notions stem from the realization that employees
play a very huge role in the profitability and success of any one business.
Abraham Maslow was an abject man, yet his wittiness gave weight to the theories
of motivation and even human psychology majors now thrive on his principles.
The focal point being to motivate those in your employ so they in turn make your
enterprise more successful.
These
mangy, foul and corrupt legislators/tax collectors have eyes on the wrong ball.
Reduce the number of MPs in our tiny country, eliminate most of the numerous
benefits (Including brand new Ford Rangers for everybody!), and witness as our
nation recuperates.
Stop
taking advantage of the working population!!!
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