OK Zimbabwe Limited (OK Zim)’s joint works council has approved the immediate, temporary suspension of employees’ salaries and compensation in an attempt to stabilize and return the financially distressed business back to profitability.
The retail giant – currently under corporate rescue – has been facing mounting operational challenges due to a heavy debt burden, fierce competition from informal traders, and an inability to restock.
“…we have decided to suspend the company’s payroll and compensation structure. 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 council resolved in a meeting held on 22 May 2026.
“The company has agreed with its staff to suspend all salaries and wages with immediate effect and 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 council said.
It added: “This is a difficult and uncomfortable measure but a necessary intervention in our efforts to turn around the business.”
The meeting included the corporate rescue practitioner Bulisa Mbano of Grant Thornton and works council chairman Alex Siyavora.
This comes as OK Zim’s board of directors held urgent meeting nn the 23rd of February 2026, and unanimously adopted a resolution in terms of provision of Section 122 of the Insolvency Act [Chapter 6:07] for the company to voluntarily begin corporate rescue proceedings.
OK Zim is one of the oldest and largest supermarket retailers in Zimbabwe, providing groceries, basic clothing, and houseware products.