UNIVERSITY of Zimbabwe Constitutional Law lecturer Professor Lovemore Madhuku and labour law expert Caleb Mucheche on Thursday filed an urgent application with the Constitutional Court seeking the suspension of last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment which authorized employers to sack workers after giving them an appropriate notice without retrenchment benefits.
The judgment, which was pronounced by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku and four colleagues, has been condemned by labour representative organisations and pro-democracy movements with most of them calling for mass protests against the “retrogressive” ruling.
Caleb Mucheche of Matsikidze and Mucheche legal practitioners told members of various workers unions gathered for a “way-forward” meeting at Raylton Sports Club in Harare Thursday evening that although most of the workers unions do not have trust in the Constitutional Court they have decided to test the new Constitution through making an appeal with the highest court in the land.
“I am here to inform you that I and Professor Madhuku did not sleep last night trying to find ways of assisting workers,” Mucheche told the ululating crowd.
He added: “We then decided to file an application with the Con-Court seeking for the suspension of the judgment.
“What this means is that the judgment will be suspended, and we are now waiting for the ConCourt to sit and deliberate on the application.”
Mucheche said no one should celebrate the judgment because all workers are now like “prisoners on death the row”, who do not know who is next to be executed after one of them has been hanged.
Former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions President Lovemore Matombo who resurfaced after years of hibernation told workers to resist the judgment.
“Those who give others three months notices must also be given the same time to leave their offices,” Matombo said, referring to Justice Chidyausiku who said employers can give three months’ notice to fire workers.-Newzimbabwe
