Zimbabwean workers building the US$1 billion steel plant for the Chinese-owned Dinson Iron & Steel Company (Disco) claim they are being exploited.
Disco is a subsidiary of China’s largest stainless steel manufacturer, Tsingshan Holdings.
The workers told The Sunday Times that they are being forced to work in inhumane conditions and are not given off days.
The steel plant which is touted to become Africa’s largest steel plant is located in Manhize, Mvuma, about 192 kilometres south of Harare.
Production is set to start in August this year and the plant is expected to manufacture more than 1.2 million tonnes of steel a year.
A 35-year-old construction worker who spoke to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity said:
Nothing good is coming out of the steel plant; we live like animals. Eight workers sleep in one tiny room.
We have no basic sanitation. Sewage overflows at the plant because of blocked plumbing.
We defecate in the bush because they are no working toilets at the plant.
The sewage overflow is next to the kitchen where the food for workers is prepared.
We are not allowed to cook our own food. The food we are given by the company is badly prepared — we are given sadza with beans or sadza with cabbage.
The food looks disgusting — we eat because we are hungry.
We are paid $4 a day and the money comes as half in local currency and another half in US dollars.
l work for 30 days, with no off day — l have no free time to even visit my loved ones.
We are not given any off days; you have to work for 30 days. Recently, l got an off day because l lied that my relative had passed away.
It’s a very difficult place to work, but we work because we are desperate for money and to provide for our families.
It’s unfortunate that our Chinese colleagues don’t see us as human beings but as animals. It’s inhumane.
Another worker, who is 32, claimed they are paid US$$4 a day, working for 30 days straight with no weekends off. Said the worker:
We are paid $4 a day and the money comes as half in local currency and half in US dollars.
l work for 30 days, with no off day — l have no free time to even visit my loved ones.
Another worker said they work overtime but are not paid for it and the company doesn’t give them payslips. He said:
I also work overtime from 5 pm until 10 pm but l am never paid for the overtime. We are not given payslips to see how many hours we have worked.
If we raise concerns, we are ignored. If you keep complaining, eventually you lose your job. With the money l earn I am not able to send rent money or buy groceries for my family.
We once went on strike demanding better pay but the company called the police on us and we were forced back to work.
Quitting is not an option as l am desperate for work to be able to feed my family.
More than 800 workers are employed at the Manhize plant, with most of them living on the site.
The Zimbabwe Construction & Allied Trades Workers’ Union (ZCATWU), which is affiliated with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said it tried to organise workers there but management denied them access.
However, in a statement, Dinson Iron & Steel Company denied the allegations, saying they are “continued attempts at smearing and undermining the good work of the investors”.