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Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent—
THE ZIMBABWE Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has dismissed 282 workers as the Supreme Court ruling authorising employers to do so on three months notice continues to take its toll on the country’s labour force. The state broadcaster has offloaded the entire staff at its Gweru station Voice of Zimbabwe. The chairperson of the ZBC Board of Directors, Father Gibson Munyoro yesterday said the move is aimed at ensuring that the public broadcaster becomes a lean and professionally-run parastatal capable of delivering value to the people of Zimbabwe.

“ZBC Board of Directors has so far terminated the contracts of some 282 staff members on three months’ notice. The ZBC has decided to streamline non-functional operations in an on-going process to stir the national broadcaster towards viable business focused and results based activities,” said Fr Munyoro.

He said redundant structures and activities such as canteen and cleaning among others, have been, with immediate effect, closed and will be replaced by outsourced services.

Fr Munyoro also highlighted that the Voice of Zimbabwe station in Gweru that had been idle and unable to broadcast for more than a year, suffered the same fate but work would start immediately to put up digitised studios and a content production house as the digital migration process proceeds.

He said ZBC would consider re-engaging some of the employees at the full implementation of the digital migration should the need arise.

The national broadcaster yesterday issued all the 15 reporters, producers, presenters and other technical staff members at Voice of Zimbabwe notice of termination of employment.

Only security guards were spared.

In letters seen by The Chronicle, the public broadcaster terminated the employees’ contracts on a three months notice basis.

“We write to advise that the employer has decided to exercise its right in terms of the Common Law, and Section 12(4) of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01) (hereinafter referred to as the Labour Act) to terminate your contract of employment on notice with immediate effect.

“In this regard you are hereby given three months notice in terms of the provisions of Section 12(4) of the Labour Act.

“The employer absolves you from any of your contractual duties during the notice period. Accordingly you shall receive your notice pay whilst you are at home . . . ,” reads part of the termination of employment notice.

ZBC joins other big companies such as National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), Sino Zimbabwe, Zimpapers, Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, among others that have capitalised on the Supreme Court ruling to reduce their workforce by terminating employees’ contracts on three months’ notice.

Last week, ZBC fired four top executives who had been on suspension, chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere, former general manager of finance, Elliot Kasu, ex-general manager of radio services, Allan Chiweshe, and the head (finance) Ralph Nyambudzi.

The Supreme Court ruling states that employers can fire workers without paying benefits, no matter how long a worker would have served an organisation, provided they give three months notice.

Parliament said the proposed amendments to the Labour Act can be completed within a week once the Bill is brought to the legislature.

The Zanu-PF Politburo on Wednesday last week announced that Cabinet had approved the amendments that were meant to halt the spate of job terminations that have characterised the job market in the last fortnight.