Steward Bank managers lose labour case

An attempt by 11 Steward Bank managers to bar the bank from withholding their salaries and benefits pending retrenchment flopped after the Labour Court threw out the case, saying it did not have jurisdiction to hear constitutionally-related matters.

The 11 managers had brought an urgent application of a constitutional nature for the enforcement of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

This was after the bank had told them last year that it would not be able to pay their August salaries on time.

But Labour Court judge Justice Godfrey Musariri last week rejected the application in one of the first tests given to the court to pronounce whether or not it has been granted new powers under the new Constitution to determine constitutional applications.

Justice Musariri upheld the preliminary point that was raised by Steward Bank's lawyer Advocate Taona Sibanda of Chinawa Law Chambers, that the Labour Court had no jurisdiction to hear constitutional matters.

Adv Sibanda argued that in terms of the Labour Act, the court was not empowered to issue declaratory orders and interdicts, which Justice Musariri accepted.