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Business Reporter
HOSPITALITY group African Sun Limited is entangled in internal dispute over retrenchment packages with hundreds of its former workers whose contracts were terminated on a three-month notice.

Following the July 17 Supreme Court ruling that empowered employers to fire workers on a three-month notice, African Sun dismissed hundreds of workers.

A total of 219 affected workers are from the group’s Victoria Falls branches.

The hotel group operates 12 outlets that include lodges and hotels in the country.

The former employees are disputing the termination packages saying they are being imposed on them against the new Labour Bill which prescribes the need for negotiations between the two parties in case of termination of contract.

At the end of August, President Mugabe signed into law the Labour Amendment Bill which repealed common law provisions employers had used to fire workers on a three-month notice.

The amended Labour Act is meant to serve the interests of both the workers and the employers.

Workers who spoke to Business Chronicle representing the ex-employees alleged an improper conduct and unfair labour practice by their former employer who they accused of coming up with packages without engaging them.

“According to the new Labour Bill we’re supposed to negotiate for our exit packages but that hasn’t happened. Instead, they’ve imposed some figures saying those are the packages which they’ll give us but don’t say when we’re going to be paid,” said the ex-workers preferring not to be named.

The workers said their former employer had handpicked a few workers that are said to be representing them at the negotiations which is not supposed to be the case.

“There’s no payment plan for our packages, instead they’ve quoted salaries that are about three quarters of what we were getting and used them to calculate our packages.

“The other issue is that they want to pay us two weeks’ salary for every year served which is unfair because managers who were also fired on three-month notice are being paid a month’s salary for every year served,” said another employee.

According to the documents, African Sun has written that the proposed packages will be paid in instalments of six months.

“Should we have not secured your consent and hence not concluded a MoU by the date we intend to resume retrenchment packages payouts, we might opt to payout your package anyway with effect that you miss out on the retrenchment payout rebate,” reads one of the notices which the ex-workers are challenging.

Responding to the issues raised by the former workers, African Sun managing director Edwin Shangwa said his company had followed the correct procedure and only a few disgruntled workers were yet to sign.

“It’s legally impossible for an employer to impose exit packages. African Sun observed all legal retrenchment processes. Grievances on processes and agreed packages have formal channels within which they are dealt with and all our affected employees are well aware of their rights in contesting,” he said in a written response.

He dismissed as untrue that minutes of meetings were altered adding that no such meetings were held without consent of the workers. Shangwa also disputed claims that management was threatening former workers with unspecified political action.

“There’s no chance for imposition of packages on incorrect basis. This is approved by the retrenchment board. Our special works council convened to negotiate lower level staff packages which have been concluded and implementation towards retrenchment packages payout is well above 75 percent complete,” he said.

He said there was no going back on the packages as a few disgruntled individuals cannot derail the system.