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Herald Reporters
MASHOKO High School was last week granted a provisional order blocking the attachment of its property to offset US$134 863, which the mission-run school’s ancillary staff claim is owed to them in unpaid salaries and wages. This comes after the ancillary staff attached the property in fulfillment of a High Court judgment last week compelling the school to pay them US$134 863.
Justice November Mtshiya granted the school the relief it sought last week on Thursday pending the finalisation of the case.
“The seizure and attachment of the 2nd applicant’s (Hippo Valley Christian Mission) property is hereby stayed pending the finalisation of application for setting aside of judgment proceedings to be issued by the 1st applicant (Mashoko High School),” said Justice Mtshiya.
Two trucks, one school bus, all computers, printers, desks, chairs, vehicles, cabinets units, book shelves, photocopiers were awaiting removal from the school premises on Monday last week, when the school filed an urgent chamber application to stop the process.
The deputy sheriff suspended the removal of the attached property pending determination of the High Court application.
The ancillary staff members obtained an arbitral award for payment of the arrear salaries and they applied for registration of the award at the High Court.
They argued that they were being underpaid by the school from 2009 to 2011. They based their argument on the salaries pegged in a Collective Bargaining Agreement for Welfare and Education Statutory Instrument 57 of 2013. Justice Priscila Chigumba granted the application and registered the award on July 25 this year.
A writ of execution was obtained on August 27. In the urgent chamber application filed at the High Court, the school lawyer Mr Farai Ruzive of Nyawo, Ruzive law firm, argued that it was never served with the summons or any court process.
Mr Ruzive said his client was only served with notices of attachment and removal. He also argued that the arbitral award granted was against public policy because if executed, it would lead to the closure of the school.
“It is clear that should the order be enforced, it would lead to the closure of Mashoko High School thus delivering a hard knock on the nation’s collective aspiration to invest in our children’s educational requirements,” said Mr Ruzive.
The court also heard that the writ of execution in the matter was obtained on August 27 but the school became aware of it on September 13 this year.
The lawyer also argued that the judgment granted against Mashoko High School and not Mashoko High School Development Committee.
Hippo Valley Christian Church, which runs the mission school and the SDC were never cited in the application and that the duo’s property should not be attached when they were not party to the proceedings.
The school also argued that the property attached belonged to Hippo Valley Christian Mission and not Mashoko High School. Mr Vhurandeni Makuku of Tizirai-Chapwanya and Makuku, who is acting for the ancillary staff, opposed the urgent application arguing that it lacked merit.
Mr Makuku argued that the school was in willful default saying when it was served with an application to register the award over a year now, it did not take any action against the application.
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