Simbisa Brands under fire from employees

Harare – VICTORIA Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) listed Simbisa Brands’s ship seem to be sailing in turbulent waters following a massive fallout between management and the restaurants staffers, Express Mail Zim can exclusively reveal.

Information gathered by this publication through interviews with multiple inside sources established that staffers are up in arms with management over a cocktail of issues including stagnant salaries and scrapping of incentives leading to a spike in theft of cash at several branches.

“The salaries are a pittance, shop managers got a pittance with some getting between US$120-US$200 as salary.

” Previously the company would pay incentives which was around three quarters of basic salary,” revealed one of inside sources who preffered anonymity.

Express Mail Zim understands that last week shift managers walked out of a meeting convened by general manager identified as Mr Banda.

Chicken Inn managers are said to have snubbed to meet human resources officers but preffered the human resources director.

It is alleged that as a result of the stagnant salaries,staffers are now being forced to pilfer cash from money transfer facility InnBucks and float at various outlets.

“To augment meagre salaries there has been a massive rise in theft of cash by shop managers and InnBucks cashiers

” A Bakers Inn shop manager helped herself to US$3 000 float and she fled to the United Kingdom on the same day.

“A Haefelis shop manager took US$6 000 float in December,” said another inside source.

The sources said more incidents include Pizza Inn AMC branch who stole US$300,Pizza Inn Samora Machel branch (US$3000), Chicken Inn Tynwald branch manager (US$2000) among others.

In an interview with Express Mail Zim , Simbisa Brands Finance and Executive Director Baldwin Guchu refuted the salaries’ claims and said his company in fact pays the highest industry rate.

“Your source is not being honest and is untruthful.

“Those figures are not true, we pay our salaries partly in local currency and United States dollar.

“In regards incentives, we use a performance based system.

“We actually also give grocery hampers,” said Guchu.

When asked about the alleged rise in theft due to ‘starved’ employees, he acknowledged cases of theft from the float but emphasized that it was not in anyway driven by salaries.

“We operate a cash business and some people might be tempted to steal and we take disciplinary action.

“Infact we immediately report to the police because we treat is a criminal matter,”said Guchu.

He proffesed ignorance over the meeting ‘walk out’ , but further truth checks from some staffers who were participants gave credence to the development.

“I am not aware about that (walk out),” he said.

Simbisa Brands is an operator of a chain of restaurants business in the country.

The company works under brand names, including Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn, Creamy Inn, Baker’s Inn, Fish Inn among others .