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Walter Mswazie and Emily Mbewe Chronicle Reporters
JOB losses continue to mount in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling that said employees can be given three months’ notice for termination of employment.

Masvingo’s Regency Hotel and Leisure Group has fired 251 workers while Bulawayo’s Zimbabwe Grain Bag, a subsidiary of Treger Products, has fired 108 workers.

A fortnight ago, the Supreme Court ruled that workers can be sacked without being offered packages after being given three months’ notice only.

The ruling has opened a floodgate of termination of employment with more than 7,000 workers having been sacked to date – a massive blow to the country’s thrust to create over a million jobs by 2018.

The government has since appealed to companies to exercise restraint, while it amends the Labour Act to make it harder for employees to be sacked willy nilly.

Yesterday, workers at the Regency Hotel and Leisure Group that encompasses Flamboyant Hotel, Chevron and Ritz Night Club, said nearly all workers have been given three months’ notice to terminate their employment.

There are claims that some employees have been promised that they’ll be given back their jobs on the company’s new terms.

“Two hundred and fifty one workers for the group were served with three months’ notices of termination of contract on Thursday and Friday last week despite one’s service. We’re really devastated because some of us are still owed salaries,” said one of the senior workers in Masvingo.

The hotel group’s managing director, Eddison Zvobgo Jnr, said everything was done within the confines of the law and in the best interest of the company.

He said he did not immediately have the exact figure of those affected, but an impeccable source told The Chronicle that 251 workers have been affected.

Zvobgo said they were not closing down the company and not all workers were being sacked.

He said the move is meant to enable the group to survive the harsh economic conditions.

“I’m also an employee since I report to the board. The board has mandated me to do what I could to make the company survive. This is in the best and long term interests of the company and I can assure you we’re not closing down as not all workers are affected. Everything has been done above board and within the law of the land,” he added.

At Zimbabwe Grain Bag in Bulawayo, 108 workers have also been affected.

The company’s human resource officer Annie Chirengwe declined to comment saying her boss was not available.

However, workers said they received letters of termination of employment on Friday while some of the letters were sent to places of residence for those who were not present at the firm.

The workers, some of whom declined to sign the letters, said they were taking the matter to the Labour Court as they feel their dismissal was unfair.

The fired workers said they were disappointed by the company’s decision to fire them before discussing the issue with the workers committee.