AN employee at a Mbare-based Chinese company lost his arm in early November after a machine he was operating jammed, Zim Morning Post can reveal.
The worker, Vitalis Madzikanda, who is employed as an operator by Sandak World, was at work on a night shift when the accident occurred.
A doctor who conducted surgery on his remaining arm said Madzikanda might need six months to recover, although his left hand had now been rendered obsolete.
“I cannot perform any of my duties normally and the doctor said it will take six months for the wound to fully recover,” Madzikanda said.
He said he had been operating the machine since last year and never experienced a problem with it before.
“I have operated the machine for a year now without a problems, only to lose my arm when the machine jammed,” he said.
He further said the injury had left him devastated and hopeless for any other form of employment since sandak-making was his only source of income.
“I was trained to use the plastic sandak-making machine but now I can’t operate it anymore. I just wish to get my compensation from the company so i learn to rely on other things,” Madzikana added.
The manager at the company, one Lin, said the incident had left the company at a loss but denied that the machine had jammed while in operation.
“Our machines have operated under constant checkups and are in good condition. We have always been in compliance with the laws of Zimbabwe,” Lin said.
“I believe no one was responsible for that accident, and we have done everything we can to make sure that Vitalis (Madzikana) gets all the needed help, starting with medical bills and his general welfare.
Madzikana, however, told Zim Morning Post that the company was taking rather long to facilitate his compensation.
“I wish to get compensation and also for NSSA to help me get my salaries in full until I recover, as the doctor said it might take between six and 12 months before I fully recover,” he said.
An employee at the company who declined to be named said management at the company felt Madzikana was becoming more of a liability after they had sent him to a private hospital for surgery.
“The owner has been complaining that he paid US$3 000 for Madzikana’s medical bills and feels the money is much too high,” one of the employees told Zim Morning Post.
The secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Japhet Moyo, however, said Madzikana’s case was not isolated as many desperate Zimbabweans were getting injured at work and never get compensation, either from the company that employs them or National Social Security Authority (NSSA).
“We do not have statistical evidence of how many people are getting injured or being cripled while at work because some employers do not allow their employees to be represented by unions and when such scenarios occur, employees are not aware of what steps to take in order to get compensation,” Moyo said.
He added that whenever an accident occurred, employees were supposed to report to NSSA within 48 hours to allow for proper compensation channels to be followed, but the employers usually do not want labour unions to be involved so they refuse to sign the NSSA papers.
“Many companies in Zimbabwe have for long operated informally, including some foreign-owned companies hence whenever an accident occurs, the employer rushes to get an employee medical help as a way to stop them from reporting the case to NSSA,” Moyo said.
Nssa currently operates two schemes, the Pensions and Other Benefits Scheme (POBS) and the Accident Prevention and Workers Compensation Scheme (APWCS).
The POBS scheme pays a pension to members who reach, 55 years of age if working in arduous occupation and 60 years for normal retirement and would have contributed for a minimum of 120 months.
