OK Zimbabwe tells workers: no salaries until business recovers

HARARE – OK Zimbabwe Limited has suspended all salaries and wages with immediate effect, its Joint Works Council resolved on Friday, as the struggling retailer’s corporate rescue proceedings enter a critical phase.

The resolution, signed on 22 May 2026, states the company “will, therefore, not be running any payroll beginning the month of May 2026 until further notice and in any case until such time that business and revenue return to profitable levels.”

The company is, in practice, asking workers to work for free.

The decision was signed off by Works Council Chairman Alex E. Siyavora, National Workers Committee Chairperson (Managerial) Isaya Mutema, Corporate Rescue Practitioner Bulisa Mbano of Grant Thornton (Zimbabwe), and National Workers Committee Chairman (NEC) Givemore Dondo.

The payroll suspension is framed as a stabilisation measure.

“The suspension decision is an attempt to stabilize the business enroute to full recovery and mitigate the impact of current poor performance and revenue,” the resolution states.

The resolution claims the company “has agreed with its staff” to suspend all salaries and wages  – a formulation that raises questions about the voluntary nature of the arrangement given the power dynamics inherent in corporate rescue proceedings.

OK Zimbabwe was placed under corporate rescue on February 24, 2026, after the board of directors held an emergency meeting on February 23 and unanimously resolved to appoint Mbano as Corporate Rescue Practitioner.

The scale of the company’s collapse has been stark. In the 11 months to February 2026, revenue plummeted from US$245 million to just US$40 million – an 84 percent wipeout – while units sold fell from 208 million to 32 million.

The company also carried US$38.7 million in current liabilities against only US$12.8 million in current assets, a deficit that left it unable to meet its obligations.

Fifteen underperforming stores were closed as part of early rescue measures, leaving 54 outlets still trading – many of them distressed.

The Joint Works Council said the payroll halt was “pursuant to the corporate rescue proceedings” with the “key objective of turning around the business and placing it back onto a profitable path.”

The resolution acknowledges the severity of the step.

“This is a difficult and uncomfortable measure but a necessary intervention in our efforts to turn around the business,” it reads.

The Joint Works Council said it would “ensure compliance with relevant labour laws governing such adjustments.”

OK Zimbabwe is one of the country’s largest retail chains, with outlets across Zimbabwe. The company has been grappling with declining revenues and operational pressures that culminated in the corporate rescue filing earlier this year.