KWEKWE — A group of ex-Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) employees integrated into council in 2009 will have to wait a little longer before they could be paid outstanding salaries and allowances after the local authority approached the Supreme Court in an attempt to have the award set aside.
REPORT BY BLESSED MHLANGA STAFF REPORTER Gweru Labour Court president Maxwell Takuva recently upheld an earlier arbitration ruling ordering Kwekwe City Council to pay $102 561 in outstanding remuneration and allowances to the 160 former Zinwa workers whose salaries had been illegally slashed on transfer to council.
However, council, through its lawyer Jethro Nyarota, appealed to theCouncil approaches Supreme Court Supreme Court under case 347/2012 after failing to note an appeal of the July 2 ruling at the High Court within 15 days in terms of the rules.
Nyarota, on behalf of council, is seeking permission to have the appeal entertained way after the prescribed deadline at law in a move the workers have condemned as attempts to delay justice.
“In terms of the Appeal Rules of this Honourable Court the appeal ought to have been noted within fifteen days . . . this was not possible because applicant had to first seek leave of the Labour Court before noting such appeal . . . it was only granted on October 11 long after expiry of the fifteen-day period,” reads part of the chamber application.
The Zimbabwe Urban Council Workers’ Union (ZUCWU), which is representing the ex-Zinwa employees through its lawyer Innocent Hore, has since indicated that it will oppose the application.
“We will be opposing this lame application because it lacks merit and is simply being introduced to negate and slow the wheels of justice while the workers are suffering,” he said.
