ZACC wins appeal in $1,5m pay row

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Reporter
The Supreme Court has remitted back to the Labour Court a case in which the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission is contesting an arbitral award compelling it to pay its 26 investigators and intelligence officers outstanding allowances and benefits amounting to US$1,5 million.
Justice Vernanda Ziyambi, sitting with Justices Susan Mavangira and Ben Hlatshwayo, yesterday granted an appeal by ZACC with the consent of the workers.
She said the Labour Court must determine the matter on the merits.

“By consent,the appeal is allowed and the matter is remitted back to the Labour Court for determination on the merits,” ruled Justice Ziyambi.
This was after Advocate Thabani Mpofu argued that the Labour Court wrongly dismissed ZACC’s appeal on a technicality.

He argued the court wrongly found that ZACC’s hands were dirty.
In September last year Labour Court judge Justice Lilian Kudya ruled that the commission was in contempt of court after it failed to comply with a court order to pay the 26 workers.

Justice Kudya said the fact that the workers applied for registration of their award at the High Court has no effect on the award which has been appealed against in the court.

The commission in its appeal had maintained that it had not applied for a stay of the arbitral award pending appeal because the respondents filed an application with the High Court to register the award in question.

In that regard Justice Kudya dismissed the case at the preliminary stage without getting into the merits of the matter.
In her ruling she said: “That all the points in limine being with merit be and are hereby upheld with costs.

“The appeal by the appellant is consequently struck off the roll for non-compliance in the respects set out by the points in limine.”
She ruled that the commission was approaching the court with dirty hands without first seeking the setting aside of the arbitral award.

According to court documents, the contract signed by the employees was such that they were entitled to a housing allowance, transport allowance, cellphone allowance, and provision of motor vehicles to officers without vehicles, a 13th cheque, anti-corruption allowance, group life cover, medical aid, risk allowance, education and school fees allowance.

In March last year, arbitrator Mr Rodgers Matsikidze ruled in favour of the employees and awarded each of them various amounts ranging between US$53 000 and US$61 000.

He said the commission’s human resources section was in shambles and that it was unfairly treating the workers. In the award, Mr Matsikidze urged the commission to take care of the staff saying poor conditions and salaries might tempt them to engage in corrupt activities.