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Yeukai Karengezeka Herald Correspondent
Chitungwiza Municipality has been ordered to reinstate 104 workers it unlawfully dismissed in 2015 within 30 days.
The order was recently handed down by Justice Lilian Kudya at the Labour Court. The workers, who are under Chitungwiza Municipal Workers’ Union, were represented by Faith Mupangani of Muzembe and Shambamuto Law Chambers.

The local authority terminated the contracts of the 104 employees on notice the same day the Labour Amendment Act No. 5/2015 was promulgated and the workers alleged non-compliance with the law in those terminations

“Chitungwiza Municipality is do hereby ordered to within 30 days of the order reinstate Alice Dzvuke and 103 others to their original positions without loss of salary and benefits or if reinstatement is not feasible they be paid damages in an agreed sum between the parties,” read the judgment.

According to the ruling, the termination of the contracts was unlawful and the waiver put by the local authority did not hold any water.

“’As rightfully observed by the employees’ ignorance of the said legal provisions could not avail the employer. To that extent there was nothing that remains in the labour officer conclusion that the termination of the employees in the case at hand were unlawful.

“In terms of the waiver it is settled that the waiver be clear and unequivocal. In the case at hand all that abounds from the papers filed of record is that there is documentation with figures which the employer holds to demonstrate packages which it says were paid demonstrating the desire to sue their rights under the terminated contracts.”

He also said there was no evidence of workers’ acceptance of the alleged retrenchment packages nor the formula used to arrive at the alleged packages.

The workers further maintained that they had sought relief within the two years prescribed by the law so to that end insinuations by the employer that prescription could preclude from getting relief was baseless as they acted within the requisite timelines set out by law.