Workers at Bushiri Mining Limited in Lufwanyama District on the Copperbelt Province have gone three months without pay and the workers have expressed fear they may not get their gratuity as their one year contract come to and on the 31st of this month, the Zambian Observer has reported.
The mining company is owned by the self-confessed Malawi billionaire and Enlightened Christian Gathering Church leader Prophet Shepherd Bushiri who currently resides in South Africa.
The above-mentioned tabloid reports that the workers, who sadly are not unionised, have since reported their grievance to the labour office in Kitwe to mediate as they demand for their three months salary arrears.
Representative Simon Katimba said have been giving excuses whenever approached on their outstanding salary arrears.
He said managed had assured that they would be paid in two weeks but has gone mute and that all offices have remained closed on site.
He stated, “We are worried because when we went to check we discovered that the offices were locked, so we are not sure if we will be paid because even when we call they are not taking our calls, yes we reported the matter to the labour office so they help us get our money.”
When contacted, the Board of Directors Secretary Douglas Moyo said management knows of the salaries it owes to employees and is still sourcing for funds.
However, Mr Moyo was quick to mention that the matter was before the labour office and it was being attended to.
“Yes I am aware of that challenge, just to let you know how bad the situation is we have also suspended operations..we are attending to the matter I can’t say much on this issue because we are addressing it through the labour office,” Mr Moyo said
Bushiri Mining Limited operates under Shepherd Bushiri Investments (SBI), the holding company which in recent years has entered a groundbreaking partnership with the world’s most valuable and richest company, tech giant, Google.
A billion-dollar inventory firm, SBI has SBI Airlines, SBI Technologies, SBI Consultancy, SBI Media, among other subsidiaries.
