Municipal cops lose allowance appeal

salaries as retention allowances.
The officers had argued that the town clerk had given the directive to the human resources director that they be paid the amount.
They claimed that the town clerk was authorised to give the directive in terms of the Urban Councils Act.
The other ground for the claim was that some employees who are also in grade 8 were being paid the allowances.
The arbitrator held that the town clerk did not have authority to authorise the allowances as such authority lay with the council executive committee.
He ordered that the matter of retention allowances be placed before the relevant structures of the council.
At the Labour Court, the officers argued that the arbitrator misdirected himself in finding that the town clerk had no authority to act as he did in this case. They further argued that the legal issue that was referred for arbitration was to determine whether they were entitled to a critical retention allowance. Labour Court president Mr Custom Kachambwa, was satisfied that the arbitrator made a thoroughly reasoned decision.
Said Mr Kachambwa: “On the authority of the town clerk to direct that the allowance be paid, I do not agree that the arbitrator misdirected himself.
“The decision does not lie with the town clerk or the mayor, but with the executive committee.”
He also noted that it was clear the decision was not necessarily based on a grade in the council, as each position was considered in its own right.
Mr Kachambwa said there was no room for anyone to simply claim that because someone of a similar grade was being paid the allowance, then the town clerk could direct that all others be paid.
“The arbitrator was not supposed to award the officers any retention allowance even if sufficient evidence was placed before him to enable him to make a ruling on the same,” he said.
“For him to do so after ruling that the decision is made by Council would be to jump the gun so to speak,” said Mr Kachambwa.
In the circumstances, the officers’ appeal failed and was dismissed by Mr Kachambwa.