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Eighteen lecturers embroiled in a legal battle with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology have approached the Civil Service Commission to have their US$5,3 million relocation expenses and interest paid by Government. The Labour Court recently ordered Government to pay the money in relocation expenses and interest.
This was after the lecturers had successfully challenged their transfers and the Government was ordered to meet all relocation expenses.
Government, represented by Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology permanent secretary Dr Washington Mbizvo ignored the order.
Under the new Constitution (Section 65), the CSC has the function to “exercise control and disciplinary powers over members of the civil service, to investigate grievances and to remedy the grievances of members of the civil service concerning official acts or omissions”.
In a letter to CSC secretary Mrs Pretty Sunguro, the lecturers, represented by the College Lecturers Association of Zimbabwe, appealed to the Commission to exercise its mandate as the employer to interrogate their case and make “judicious decisions that it deems fair and thus bring finality to the woes of its employees.”
The workers said the attitude displayed by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology undermined not only the credibility and sincerity of internal disciplinary system, but also that of the judiciary.
“Note that the affected lecturers and the rest of the civil servants are losing confidence in the disciplinary system considering that they complied with the decisions of the disciplinary authority only to have the same authority playing God by ignoring court orders,” reads the letter.
The educators said they continued to experience the stress of being separated from their families.
“The situation compromises their capacity to effectively dispense their duties as expected of them by the employer,” reads the letter. “The transfers have caused untold suffering to the affected civil servants and their families in a chronicle of events that have thrown into question Government’s sincerity in its discharge of disciplinary functions as provisioned for in Statutory Instrument 1/2000 as amended.”
The lecturers are from Bondolfi, Mkoba and Masvingo teachers colleges.
During the initial order, each lecturer was supposed to get a minimum of US$10 500, but Government was found in contempt of court by Labour Court senior president Ms Betty Chidziva and ordered to pay each lecturer an average of US$297 000, including interest from October 22 last year in relocation expenses.
The money includes all the expenses the lecturers incurred for the more than 251 days they were unilaterally transferred.
The relocation expenses, that cover breakfast, lunch, dinner and supplementary allowances, were calculated in terms of the Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology travelling and subsistence rates.
In her judgment, Ms Chidziva said Government had failed to explain why it did not comply with the court order and never sought to apply for its suspension.
She said Government, in contempt of court, had even failed to file a response.
After the industrial action, Dr Mbizvo conducted hearings for more than 300 lecturers who participated in the strike resulting in some being fined, while others were warned.
Government argued that disciplinary order had already been enforced and different penalties were imposed because each party of the applicants was facing different charges and aggravating circumstances.
Online Reporter