TWENTY-SIX employees of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) on Tuesday approached the High Court seeking to register an arbitral award of over $1,5 million granted against their employer following a protracted labour dispute.
REPORT BY SENIOR COURT REPORTER
The application, however, was opposed by the Attorney-General’s (AG) Civil Division Office.
The arbitration award came about after the employees accused their employer of unfair labour practice following an alleged variation of their employment contracts and the absence of conditions of service.
In March this year, arbitrator Rodgers Matsikidze ruled in favour of the employees and awarded each of them various amounts ranging between $53 000 and $61 000.
It was submitted before Matsikidze that according to the contract signed by the employers, they were entitled to a housing allowance, transport allowance, cellphone allowance, and provision of motor vehicles to officers without vehicles, a 13th cheque, anti-corruption allowance, group life cover, medical aid, risk allowance, education and school fees allowance.
The bulk of the allowances were supposed to have been paid in February 2009 except the anti-corruption allowances which were supposed to have been paid by November 1 of the same year.
Zacc, however, opposed the application arguing that the officers were State employees and as such should be treated as other civil servants, an assertion which Matsikidze dismissed. Justice Happious Zhou reserved judgment in the matter.
