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ABOUT 50 workers at St Lucia Park Training and Conference Centre in Harare face a bleak future after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority donated the place to Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
ZDF later offered the centre to Southern African Development Community (Sadc) secretariat to establish the Sadc Regional Peace-Training Centre (RPTC).
The workers say St Lucia was jointly owned by RBZ and Zimra. They have been given up to March to vacate the centre.
According to a Sadc report, the facility was given to the RPTC without any conditions.
“To facilitate the smooth takeover of St Lucia Park by Sadc RPTC, the government of Zimbabwe has allowed staff at St Lucia Park to continue with their operations for one year,” the report said.
In March 2009 the works council signed an urgent petition addressed to RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, Zimra Commissioner General Geshom Pasi and chairman of the St Lucia board, a Mr Chasi.
Part of the petition reads: “St Lucia Park Private Limited employees are not against the handover of the facility but the main concerns are that no official communication has been received by the employees from the employer on the change of ownership.
“This development has caused a lot of confusion and uncertainty with regards to employees’ fate and welfare.
“We the undersigned on behalf of all the employees at St Lucia Park Conference Centre call on the current shareholders, RBZ and Zimra to formally communicate the official position of the handover, in as far as staff welfare is concerned.
“With particular reference to employees’ current employment contracts as non-communication and non-involvement of staff is being viewed as constructive dismissal and bad faith on the part of the employer.”
The workers said Gono and the other board members did not respond to the petition.
“They ignored the petition. We don’t even know what to do and some workers have been here for more than 20 years, what is going to happen to them?” said one of the employees.
Contacted for comment, Chasi said he was not aware of the petition and the plight of the workers.
“I don’t have a comment because I am not aware of the petition, I have never seen it,” he said.
Pasi said he could not comment as he was on leave.
BY SANDRA MANDIZVIDZA
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