By Fanuel Chinowaita
Harare – Workers at Ameriworld International, a company owned by Sanjay Babbar and linked to the Mahindra group, say they are being pushed to the brink of survival after months without salaries, unfulfilled bonuses stretching back three years and what they describe as systematic attempts to silence dissent.
Employees told this publication that the company has failed to pay wages for the past two months, leaving families without food, rent money, or school fees. Despite the mounting crisis, management has continued operations as normal, allegedly ignoring the human cost borne by its workforce.
Jack Raymond, who introduced himself as an accountant for Ameriworld International, claimed the company has been providing workers with allowances to cushion them during the delay.
However, employees have flatly rejected this assertion, describing it as a blatant falsehood meant to mislead the public and downplay their suffering.
“There are no allowances,” one worker said. “That is a lie. We are surviving on nothing.”
In remarks that further inflamed tensions, Raymond appeared to downplay the company’s responsibility to its employees, arguing that Ameriworld International should not be held to the same standards as established employers.
“Our company is not big and it is not formal. That is the reason we are failing to pay salaries. Tiri vana musiyanwa,” Raymond said.
Workers described the statement as insulting and dismissive, saying it openly admits poor management while expecting employees to carry the burden. Some questioned how a company that claims to be “not formal” can continue to employ workers for years, demand full-time labour, and generate revenue, yet refuse to meet basic obligations such as paying wages.
More troubling, employees allege that the company is using short-term one-month contracts as a tool of intimidation, forcing long-serving workers—some with over five years of continuous service—to sign insecure contracts instead of being paid their outstanding wages.
“They want to silence us,” said one employee. “You complain about salaries, and they give you a one-month contract to sign. If you refuse, you are treated like a troublemaker.”
Labour experts say such practices, if proven, may amount to unfair labour practices and constructive dismissal, particularly when long-term employees are denied permanent status while being coerced into short contracts.
Although Raymond admitted that the company owes workers money and promised that all outstanding salaries and bonuses would be cleared by month-end, workers say they have heard similar assurances before—none of which materialised.
“We have been promised many times,” another worker said. “Nothing ever comes. Meanwhile, our children are chased from school, landlords want rent, and there is no food at home.”
Several employees described Ameriworld International as a workplace where employment has lost its meaning, offering neither security nor dignity.
“I am still working, but my life is worse than being unemployed,” one worker said. “Here, you work, yet you starve.”
The unfolding situation raises serious questions about Ameriworld International’s compliance with labour laws that require employers—formal or informal—to pay workers for work done.
As frustration grows, employees are calling for intervention from labour authorities, unions, and government officials to stop what they describe as open exploitation.
For now, workers remain on duty, not because conditions are acceptable, but because desperation has left them trapped with no alternatives.