Dismissed Southgate truck drivers call on govt to intervene

SOME truck drivers in Lusaka have called on the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to intervene in a matter in which their former employer, Farook Bharuch from Southgate Investment Limited allegedly dismissed them without proper reasons.

The truck drivers spoken to narrated how their employer dismissed them from employment without giving proper reasons and paying them off their benefits.

One of the employees narrated that life has never been easy at the hands of Mr Bharuch as he would give them a K400 for food for a whole week when they travel outside town and K900 for an entire week when outside the country.

The drivers also narrated how their former boss used to make them to do dirty jobs for him when they were working for him.

“We did a lot of dirty for this man and we have the evidence and now he has decided to throw us out just like that without settling us our money that we worked for,” they said.

According to the former employees, Mr Bharuch has a system of dismissing employees whom he will firstly give cars to be paying slowly and when he sees that the person is almost done paying for the vehicle then decides to dismiss them and confiscate the vehicle.

“He has done this to me and several other colleagues of mine, I got a vehicle which he said I would have to pay K150, 000 for it then now after seeing that I was almost done paying for the vehicle he decided to dismiss me over a petty issue,” narrated one of the drivers

And the drivers also narrated how the man had been boasting that nothing can happen to him because he is untouchable and he has strong connections with top government officials.

They said Mr Bharuch claims that he wines and dines with top officials hence he is untouchable and nothing can happen to him.

But when called to appear before the labor commissionner to explain his side of the story, Mr Bharuch did not show up for the meeting.

And when contacted as to why he had not shown up for the meeting, Mr Bharuch said he was at his office and the reporter needed to make an appointment before anything else.

And SADC Truck Drivers Association of Zambia President Eugen Ndlobvu expressed displeasure at the continued mistreatment of truck drivers by foreign investors.

Mr Ndlobvu said it is unacceptable that drivers continue to be ill-treated at the hands of foreign investors.

He said the Association will therefore take matters into their own hands if the labour office does not help the truck drivers that are being mistreated by Mr Bharuch.