Zimpapers Logo

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
The Labour Court has ruled that the 100 workers who retired from Hwange Colliery Company six years ago must continue staying in the company houses until they receive their full packages and benefits.

Justice Mercy Moya-Matshanga threw out an application by Hwange Colliery for permission to contest a Labour Court judgment allowing the retirees to stay.

It was the court’s finding that Hwange was guilty of unfair labour practice and that it must firstly pay the retirees before seeking their eviction.

“Section 13 of the Labour Act clearly states that failure to pay terminal benefits is an unfair labour practice and cannot be condoned.

“It is viewed with such seriousness by the lawgiver that it is also a criminal offence.

“The applicant must pay terminal benefits and respondents will leave him alone and go to where they came from.

“There are no prospects of success on appeal and the application is dismissed with costs on an ordinary scale,” ruled Justice Moya-Matshanga.

The 100 workers retired after reaching 60 years between 2009 and 2012.

Since their retirement, they had been living in the company houses without any problems.

In February last year, Hwange Colliery forcibly removed the retirees’ property from the company houses when it was raining.

Coincidentally, the Labour Court was sitting in the town as a circuit court and the retirees quickly approached it seeking protection.

They argued that they had agreed with the company to continue staying in the houses until they were fully paid and that the eviction came to them as a surprise.

However, Hwange Colliery was now seeking leave to appeal against the Labour Court’s decision.

The company argued that the Labour Court had no jurisdiction to grant the order in question.

It is Hwange Colliery’s argument that the 100 were no longer employees and that the matter no longer falls in the purview of labour law, hence the Supreme Court was the best court to deal with the matter.

But Justice Moya-Matshanga ruled that the Labour Court had unfettered jurisdiction to deal with all labour-related disputes.

“The Labour Court is the court with jurisdiction to deal with issues of unfair labour practice and Section 13 allows it to deal with issues arising thereof, even after termination of employment.

“Like in casu where it is admitted that there are terminal benefits owing, explaining and corroborating why the respondents (100 retirees) are still in the houses, as they have been saying all along, the issue falls squarely in the purview of the labour law over which the Labour Court has exclusive jurisdiction,” the judge ruled.

Majoko and Majoko Legal Practitioners represented Hwange Colliery in the matter while the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions acted for the retirees.