The dismissed workers won their case in the Labour Court in November 2009 after the Arbitration Tribunal ruled that the council should reinstate the workers without any loss of salary or benefits from time of the employment termination. However, the council appealed against the ruling to the Supreme Court but in sudden u-turn, the local authority has opted for out-of-court settlement with the disgruntled workers.
Town Clerk Obert Muzawazi confirmed the new development, saying the local authority had resolved to resolve the matter amicably. Under the new deal, Muzawazi said the council would withdraw the matter from the Supreme Court while the workers have agreed to write off their back pay and return to work on a permanent basis. All the affected workers will come back to their positions on permanent basis with effect from May 2,2011. We discovered that the process could be costly to the local authority in legal fees, said Muzawazi.
The council was not to blame for the dispute as the workers were formerly employed by Zimbabwe National Water Authority,(Zinwa) but were incorporated into the council system when the water utility took over operations from the council, he added. The workers were contract workers with Zinwa in 2008.The water utility did not formally terminate their contracts when they expired. During the hand over take over the workers were offloaded on the council wage bill and this was an anomally, said Muzawazi.
Workers welcomed the council decision to withdraw the matter from the courts and engage them in a meaningful dialogue to iron out their differences.
Post published in: News