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ANALYSTS have expressed concern over the Supreme Court ruling passed last Friday by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku and four other Judges in the case involving two former Zuva Petroleum employees.
The ruling which allowed arbitrary termination of employment contracts in terms of Section 12 (4a) of the Labour Act overshadowed Section 12 (C) of termination with retrenchment benefits.
Labour expert, Mr Reginald Charindeguta, said the ruling which was premised on Section 12 (4a) on termination of notice should be amended without delay through a Presidential decree before more harm than good was done.
By Wednesday in Harare alone, it was reported that over 700 employees had lost their jobs since the ruling was passed last Friday.
In Mutare, an official in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare on Wednesday said no reports of dismissals had been reported.
Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Cde Prisca Mupfumira on Tuesday expressed concern on the soaring cases of dismissal after last Friday’s ruling.
Speaking during a Tripartite Negotiating Forum meeting held in Harare, Cde Mupfumira said the TNF, which brings together Government, labour and the private sector, was still consulting on the matter and hoping to come up with a position by today (Friday).
“We hope we will be able to come up with a win-win scenario and release a statement on Friday,” said Cde Mupfumira.
Mr Charindeguta, however, said the ambiguity in Section 12 (4a) had already been identified and was in the process of being amended as articulated in the second draft Bill of the Labour Act presented on June 30.
In the second draft Bill, the imprecision in Section 12 (4a) is put right in Section 12 (4b) which states that:
“Where an employee is given notice and termination of contract in terms of Section 12 (4a) and such employee is employed under the terms of the contract without the limit of time, the provision of section 12 (C) shall be applicable with regard to compensation for loss of employment,” reads the clause.
Mr Charindeguta added that Section 12 (4a) gave too much power to employers at the expense of employees.
“In simple terms, Section 12 (4a) is open to abuse. Several employers will act quickly on this as they have been waiting for opportunities to easily dismiss employees. Through Section 12 (4a) employers evade Section 12 (B) of dismissal in terms of the Code and Section 12 (C) of the retrenchment process. This is dangerous and bound to render thousands jobless overnight,” said Mr Charindeguta.
Africa University lecturer and economist, Mr Thomas Masese, said control mechanisms were important to exert control over the firing of employees.
He added that justified dismissals should apply to all including top executives and not just middle-management and low-ranking employees.
“Government has to come up with mechanisms to protect employees and ensure job security. There should be some control mechanisms to minimise abuse of this ruling and it should not be used on lower level employees only, but also top management,” said Mr Masese.
Mr Masese, however, underscored that if not abused, the Act to some extent was necessary to cushion employers currently suffering from hefty labour disputes threatening to shut-down operations.
Independent arbitrator, Dr Noah Ariel Mutongoreni, said the ruling would only affect the private sector given that Section 12 (4a) was not applicable in the public sector.
Dr Mutongoreni said in the public sector through Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 there was no provision for termination of employment under Section 12 (4a).
He said the ruling could also turn out to become a defining moment in the history of Zimbabwe’s industrial laws depending on how Government reacts.
“Government in Zimbabwe has often been pro-employees in our industrial policies, but if it supports this ruling then this will be a historic change to pro-capitalists. Probably this decision may largely be influenced by industrialists who argue that the existing labour laws are too penal on employers,” said Dr Mutongoreni.
He added that top management should not be quick to embrace the ruling as they would be the eventual target given their heavy retrenchment packages.
Online Reporter