The R5.00 Voice of the Labour Movement Established 1988 Issue No: 226 AUGUST, 2015 R egister ted at h e GPO as a New s paper Job The Zimbabwe Congress terminations of Trade Unions (ZCTU) will, on the a health 8th of August hold demonstrations time bomb against the recent Supreme Court Judgment which Stop the has opened floodgates for the dismissal of thousands of workers on three months’ notice. P 3 The demonstrations will be held in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Fireworks Gweru, Masvingo genocide and Chinhoyi. at SLEEPING ON DUTY WHILE THE COUNTRY IS BURNING ZCIEA BY STAFF REPORTERS ABOUR, civic organisations and other Lstakeholders have Congress condemned the recent Supreme Court Judgment that allows employers to fire workers on notice saying it has created a fertile ground for a national crisis which the government would fail to contain when it erupts. Speaking in separate interviews with The Worker, they said the judgment had far reaching consequences which required not just the attention of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) P 9 but needed the input of all stakeholders to come up with a lasting solution to the crisis created Mafu by the judgment. ZCTU Legal Advisor, Zakeo Mtimtema, noted that this judgment had far reaching consequences. finally “ The implications of the President Robert Mugabe is dead asleep while employers are supreme court judgment are far creating a national disaster by dismissing thousands of workers reaching and will affect the society in general as it erodes social justice, job saying this was no longer just a Dzimbahwe Chimbwa of the basing on the Zuva Petroleum gets it security, pension schemes, trade labour issue as a lot of people were Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Judgment,” he said unionism and undermines collective going to be caught unawares because Rights said the common law position NANGO Director, Cephas bargaining processes among others,” the judgment had created a national cited by the judges in coming up with Zinhumwe said government had not right he said. question that required a national their decision was ultra-vires the shown commitment to resolve the crisis as it was complying with the Page 16 He added that the judgment had consensus. constitution, thus had to be created a fertile ground for “This is an attack on the working challenged at the Constitutional International Monetary Fund (IMF) . precarious work conditions as class and our government has proved Court. “There is no commitment from workers would be subjected to fear to be that of those who have and is “The common law position is government that it will resolve this and insecurity if they tried to raise against the have- nots. The not consistent with the new crisis because its actions show that it their grievances with management. government is the biggest Zimbabwe Constitution and there is is complying with the International Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition beneficiary of this judgment because need for a fresh application to the Monetary Fund conditions. What Director Mcdonald Lewanika it will retrench at low cost,” Constitutional Court which factors in needs to be done is to put political echoed Mtimtema's sentiments, Lewanika said. workers who have been dismissed P16 To Page 3 2nd Floor, Gorlon House, 7 Jason Moyo Avenue, Harare 04-2928375/0712747808 Page 2 The Worker, AUGUST 2015 Bata suspends workers' committee Part of the suspension letters BY CHRISTOPHER MAHOVE given to the workers read “It has n what has been viewed as come to the attention of the victimization of trade company that you have Iunion activists, Bata Shoe committed an offence according Company in Gweru last month to the code of conduct, more st th suspended 10 members of the particularly that on the 1 and 9 workers committee after they of July, 2015, at the Bata Shoe led workers in a protest over Company premises in Gweru you non-payment of allowances. violated Section 37 of Statutory The ten were suspended for Instrument 246 which details the 14 days without pay, together with charge as “active obstruction of seven other employees and were any person in the lawful execution being charged with sabotaging the of duty,”. company's operations, among ZCTU Regional chairperson, other things. Martin Tazvivinga, who was This was after they engaged among the 17 suspended in protests over outstanding employees, said the employer also salaries owed to workers in grades cited Section 45 and 47 of the A to H after the company failed to same SI which speak to Bata Shoe company in Gweru implement a salary review intimidation or threatening awarded by an arbitrator in 2010 behaviour and sabotage, although of settlement that no one would be “The employer did not turn up since these were just allegations between July 1 and December 31 no one was threatened and no victimized but when we got back for conciliation and the labour which were unsubstantiated. 2010. machines were stopped. to the company, suspensions officer told us we would have to The company had failed in its bid The arbitrator had also Tazvivinga said they were began,” he said. reconvene, but the employer went to apply to the Labour Court for awarded the workers a review of suspended despite obtaining a He said they had taken the on to summon us to a hearing on exemption to pay the 9 percent their housing and transport certificate of settlement from the matter to the Labour Officer for August 5,” he said. salary increase awarded to the allowances, which the company Ministry of Labour. conciliation but the employer Tazvivinga said they would workers and had also lost at the also failed to give them. “We had obtained a certificate party did not turn up. seek leave to prepare their defence Supreme Court. Lunar Chickens closes ARDA drags farm operations non existing going for print. remain anonymous for fear of workers to court In an interview, the General By Dickson Chaeruka victimisation. Agriculture and Plantations Workers The workers claimed that their unar Chickens (Pvt) Ltd Union GAPWUZ Eastern Regional management was employing BY ALOIS VINGA owned by the former Officer, James Goneso confirmed the unorthodox means to disengage them Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe matter saying the union was assisting imbabwe's troubled parastatal, Agricultural Rural L without their dues. (RBZ) Governor, Gideon Gono has the workers. Development Authority's bid to get close to fifty They revealed that they recently folded operations at two farms ''We are assisting both workers employees' fired on allegations of staging an unlawful rejected signing forms provided by Z located in Mutare and Chivhu at Welmouth and Chigavakawa farms demonstration has hit a snag after the court ruled that the their management which purported rendering over 60 workers jobless. who have been affected. We want to an agreement of mutual separations. employees did not exist. It was established that Gono make sure that their employment is The forms, one of which availed The ghost employees' are alleged to have staged a demonstration terminated poultry projects at his terminated legally and that the to this publication, stipulated to pay in a bid to pressure ARDA to offset salary arrears owed to them for Welmouth farm in Mutare and at workers are accorded their dues the workers' salary arrears, cash in over a year. The employees are said to have also been demanding Chigavakawa respectively which is without prejudice. The union have lieu of leave and one month notice safety clothing as required by law. located in Chivhu after citing since been dealing with a series of and the employer wanted to pay a Aggrieved by the demonstration the employer approached the viability challenges. unfair labour practises by the month's salary on the day of signing labor court and tasked it to determine whether the demonstration The two projects had a employer. Recently an Arbitrator at the agreement whilst offsetting the alleged to have been staged by the employees' was legal. combined 64 workers who said were the NEC ordered payment of the balance over a period of twelve at cross roads after alleging that their workers' outstanding wages and we ARDA on the eighteenth of June this year filed two documents months. management never served them with are in the process of applying for as party of its submissions outlining the fact that the demonstration The workers, most of who had notices towards the development. attachment of assets if they fail to staged by the employees' was unwarranted. reached above 6 years of A total of 33 workers at settle the arrears in the short coming However the employees' through their legal practitioner, employment services, maintained Welmouth Farm in Mutare disclosed period,'' he said. Takudzwa Mafongoya, of Matsikidze and Mucheche Legal that they were contesting for all what that they only learnt of the The closure of Lunar Chickens Practitioners, pointed out that the notice of application filed by is due to them in terms of labour development recently on the 31st of branches comes at a time when the ARDA as J. Jebizani and 39 others was defective since the number legislation. May. ZANU Pf government is making thirty nine failed to clarify the exact respondents in context. They reported that they were ''We were never formally unusual strides to give official owed a total of $18 711.77 in salary The second argument posted by Mafongoya was that previous advised of the sad development to permission for some white farmers to arrears alone for the period April documents submitted by the Minister of Labour when a cause show shut down. It is unfortunate and stay on their farms deemed to be ''of 2014 to December 2014.