KADOMA — Thirteen Dalny Mine employees fired last January for allegedly participating in an illegal strike which later turned violent have been reinstated with full benefits following the intervention of an independent arbitrator.
BLESSED MHLANGA
Arbitrator Jonasi Ndomene ordered the workers to be reinstated after they, through the National Mine Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe, contested their dismissal citing victimisation.
The majority of the affected workers were union leaders. The workers queried why they had been singled out in a group of 877 who allegedly took part in the strike.
In its submissions to the arbitrator, Dalny Mine argued that the said workers had engaged in an unlawful strike and ignored a ministerial show-cause order issued January 23, 2013 calling upon them to stop the job action.
However, the arbitrator found that the company had acted harshly by dismissing all 19 workers despite the fact that they all faced different charges.
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“There were employees who committed three offences and others who committed a single offence, yet all were slapped with dismissal. I am not convinced by this blanket approach,” Ndomene said in his judgment.
He then ordered the reinstatement of 13 workers charged with participating in the strike, while seven others accused of beating up management and sabotaging company equipment remained fired.