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Herald Reporter
Sixteen former Hwange Colliery Company managerial workers have been given a green light to attach mining equipment, tractors and various vehicles to recover more than US$1,2 million in severance packages after the company laid them off two years ago. The 16 are part of the first batch of 200 workers that were laid off in 2012 when the mining giant embarked on a retrenchment exercise, arguing that the targeted workers had become redundant and could not fit in the company’s turn around schemes.

Recently, the workers who are being represented by their lawyer Mr Albert Chambati, obtained a writ of execution of movable property witnessed by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku.

The property that was attached so far includes a savvy crane, two savvy excavators, five savvy dumpers 50ts, five savvy coal haulers 90t, two Mahindra tractors, Nissan UD70, a fuel bowser and various vehicles.

Last month, the HCC was ordered to pay more than US$1,2 million retrenchment package to the 16 managerial staff by arbitrator Professor Lovemore Madhuku.

Prof Madhuku ruled that HCC terminated the contracts of employment of the 16 pursuant to a retrenchment exercise and should pay the agreed packages which were approved by the works council in terms of the Labour Act.

He said once an employer made a decision after an agreement, it was bound by it and could not thereafter purport to revoke it.
Prof Madhuku described the HCC’s letter of August 19 2012 seeking to reinstate the workers as a nullity.

In June 2012, HCCL wrote to 200 workers informing them that the implementation of the company’s re-engineering and restructuring programme supported by the ERP technology resulted in the company having excess labour requirements.

In this case, the selected workers were declared redundant and excess to the requirements of the coal mining giant.
After the retrenchment agreement was sealed, HCC wrote to the affected workers seeking to reinstate them after it allegedly failed to raise the money for retrenchment.