ZBC contests US$186 000 award to former staffer

the firm to pay US$186 000 to its former Head of Radio and Television Services Mrs Abigail Mvududu as damages for premature termination of her employment.
Mrs Mvududu’s employment contract was terminated in 2004 by the then Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings after she was not accommodated in the new broadcasting company’s structures following the company’s restructuring exercise.
The parties agreed that Mrs Mvududu would get salaries and allowances for 40 months and a car, which benefits she did not receive.
An arbitrator awarded her damages to the tune of US$186 157,12 and ZBC is now challenging the decision at the High Court.
The matter is yet to be set down for hearing soon.
ZBC argues that remuneration for Mrs Mvududu was in Zimbabwean dollars and it was not clear how that was converted into United States dollars.
The quantification of damages, according to ZBC, was not transparently done and that it should not be considered.
“Remuneration for the respondent’s old position was in Zimbabwean dollars and as such there is no justification as to why quantification was made in United States dollars for a period where she was paid in local currency.
“There is no reference to the instruments relied upon to fix interest at the prescribed rate on amounts in US dollars, which is another clear illegality,” read part of the application.
But Mrs Mvududu through her lawyers, Mbidzo Muchadehama and Makoni, opposed the application saying quantification was properly done. Instead, Mrs Mvududu moved for the dismissal of the High Court application saying the sole broadcaster had approached the wrong court.
“ZBH (now ZBC) has approached the wrong forum. This court has no jurisdiction to entertain this matter. The arbitration was handled in terms of the Labour Act and as such the applicant’s remedy lies in the Labour Court.
“The Labour Act gives exclusive jurisdiction to the Labour Court to handle all appeals and review against arbitration awards such as this one,” the opposing papers read.
Mrs Mvududu said it was unfair for ZBC to complain that the arbitrator’s decision was costly when she actually suffered more when her contract was summarily terminated.
“The applicant forgets that the summary termination of my employment was prejudicial financially and I was traumatised by the unceremonious departure from such a prestigious position.
“Since then, I have never been able to get any other similar employment because the applicant is the only broadcaster in the country,” she said.
Mvududu was employed by the then ZBC before it changed to ZBH, which name was later abandoned in favour of the former, from November 1996 and at the time of termination of her contract she was head of Radio and Television Services.
In her submissions, Mvududu said her contract was supposed to expire in August 2007 but was prematurely terminated in January 2004 after reaching an agreement with the employer.
According to the agreement, Mrs Mvududu was supposed to be paid for the premature termination of the contract. But ZBC later reneged on its promise and refused to pay the agreed sum.