Daniel Nemukuyu Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said it was now ready to engage its workers for an out of court settlement of the salary cut dispute. The national broadcaster in January this year unilaterally slashed the workers’ salaries to the levels of 2010 citing viability challenges.
Workers contested the decision saying it was unlawful and amounted to an unfair labour practice as none of the workers had been consulted or informed of the decision before the implementation.

The matter last week went for conciliation but the national broadcaster, through its lawyer Advocate Isaiah Mureriwa, successfully applied for a postponement to allow the company time to engage the workers for a settlement.

A labour officer postponed the case to October 28.

Adv Mureriwa said the company was willing to end the matter without going to court.

“We’re hoping and willing to deal with the case out of court.

“Negotiations is the best way to settle disputes,” said Adv Mureriwa.

The workers’ lawyer Dumisani Mthombeni confirmed the development, saying a meeting has been set for today at 2PM.

Mthombeni said it had always been the position of the workers that negotiations will settle the matter better without spending more money in legal fees.

“We’ve, on several occasions, invited the employer for a settlement since the beginning of the dispute without any success.

“It’s good that the employer has also seen the light.

“The letters we wrote to the employer were all crafted in the spirit of engagement,” he said.

Mthombeni said the employer should firstly reverse the salary cut decision before the parties agree on a payment plan to clear the arrears.

“The employer should forthwith revert to the salaries obtaining as at December 31, 2013 as a sign of seriousness, genuinness and goodwill to avoid a situation where salary arrears keep on ballooning.

“We can then discuss on how the arrears will be cleared,” said Mthombeni. When the matter was taken for conciliation, the employees were now claiming a collective figure of $1,5 million in salary arrears emanating from the cut.

The ZBC workers’ salaries were slashed to the levels of 2010 and they are arguing that the decision was unlawful and not supported by the Labour Act.

The workers are seeking an immediate reversal of the decision and subsequent payment of the arrears that arose as a result of the underpayment since January.

The 465 workers wrote their first letter of demand in the spirit of engagement and waited for a response from ZBC for nearly two months before they approached the principal labour officer.

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