By Beatific Gumbwanda
The Zimbabwe Sugar Milling Industry Workers Union (ZSMIWU) has honoured more than 100
members who retired from Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (THZ) due to old age, presenting each with
farming tools including picks and shovels for use at their retirement homes.
The union hosted the pensioners at its offices in Chiredzi recently, where its Secretary General,
Retired Captain Faster Gono, said even THZ never thanked the pensioners the way the union
had. He encouraged them to keep carrying the union’s flag wherever they go.
“We are the only union that can do this to its members who would have resigned from THZ. We
are also the only union which travels across the country to bury relatives of its members, and we
urge you to carry the flag wherever you go continuously,” said Gono.
ZSMIWU President Taruvinga Madenyaya told TellZim News that the initiative began in 2024.
The idea came from the union’s Secretary General, who wanted members to receive a token of
appreciation, drawn from the contributions they made while still employed.
“This initiative shows what ZSMIWU means to most people, and this idea came from the
Secretary General, and this will help the organisation be remembered. No union in Zimbabwe
has ever done that for its members. This was a token of appreciation for the contributions which
they have been making when they were employed,” said Madenyaya.
ZSMIWU is arguably the largest workers’ union in the Lowveld, with more than 9,000 members
employed by THZ, and has actively advocated for workers’ welfare.
Its role in wage negotiations is well documented. In 2019, Gono welcomed THZ’s decision to
grant workers a cost-of-living allowance of about 200 percent, after the union had pushed its
position paper on wage reviews. In 2022, ZSMIWU was among the sugar unions that notified
employers and the labour ministry of their intention to strike over demands for wages in US
dollars.
Gono has also chaired the National Employment Council for the Sugar Milling Industry
(NECSMI), a partnership between THZ and the sugar unions, since 2022. He publicly criticised
the sugar companies’ 2025 withdrawal from the council, calling the move improper.
