Haddon & Sly, one of Zimbabwe’s oldest supermarkets, has closed its Bulawayo branch, causing mass protests from its workers.
While Haddon & Sly’s management claim that the supermarket is closed temporarily for renovations, workers fear the closure is permanent. Stock has been moved from the supermarket into the warehouse and the company has been facing financial challenges for months. In March, security firm Safeguard took Haddon & Sly to court for non-payment of nearly US$28,000 since its contract started last October.
The supermarket employees were last paid in July. Workers protested for several days, picketing the company’s premises and sleeping there for three days. Local police were involved with the protest, furthering the rift between workers and management. Haddon & Sly manager Mr Onias Ncube said on Sunday that workers had been paid the outstanding amount. Zimbabwe Hub reports that this was confirmed by supermarket owner Deans Chibhanguza on Tuesday.
In an attempt to re-balance its finances, tenants of the offices on Haddon & Sly’s first and second floors who owe rent found themselves locked out of their premises on Friday, ten days before the stated payment deadline of 30th September was reached. Ground floor tenants and tenants who do not have arrears have found their businesses affected by this as customers are not coming to the supermarket complex.
While employees are now back at work, the future of the supermarket remains uncertain. Mr Chibhanguza says the supermarket is preparing for its renovations, confirming that “some demolitions” will be taking place, making the environment too dirty and dangerous for workers to be present and workers have been told they would be “excused from work for a few months without salaries”. Workers fear that the supermarket will quietly close permanently, leaving them stranded without pensions or severance pay. An anonymous worker asked “How is it possible that the company can secure money for renovations when stakeholders are owed a lot of money?”
Haddon & Sly Ltd was established in Bulawayo in 1894 by the merger of two general traders, WH Haddon and JW Sly. A second branch was opened in Salisbury in 1910. An additional branch in Salisbury opened in 1928 is no longer in existence while a later store in Gweru is now a branch of Spar.
OK Zimbabwe closed two branches at the end of July following operating losses.
