Opinion / Letters
MSU Vice Chancellor a law unto himself refuses to reinstate fired guards
21 Nov 2018 at 16:20hrs | Views
I'm a male adult and I was employed by Midlands State University as a security guard in 2006.
In 2013 the university authorities forced security department to form its own workers association where I became the President, Vice President Reuben Musengeyi, Secretary general Farayi Chidowe, Committee members Obed Gonese, Ndakaziva Dombo and Kizito Takawira and the treasurer John Bvumbi.
After we were elected to represent our department we started to engage the university authorities airing our grievances chief among them non-payment of overtime. The promises from the management were fruitless until we registered our grievances with Ministry of labour.
The university was summoned by the labour officer for conciliation. It was represented by its lawyer Manners Jaravaza. The labour officer referred us to the arbitrator by the name Brazil Makururu who then gave us an award for internal settlement.
Instead of the internal settlement, the university through security officer Chademana started to threaten us telling us that we are digging our own graves. Those threats prompted treasurer Bvumbi and two committee members Takawira and Gonese to resign from the executive.
After they resigned the university then started to allege us of misappropriation of association funds and the disciplinary hearing was conducted. In the disciplinary hearing, we were denied legal representation. Only four of us appeared before disciplinary hearing since we did not resign from the association. The ones who resigned were not affected though we were using money together for association business. The university used their auditor to audit association books. Their auditor advised the university that he had no jurisdiction to audit the books of the association but the university forced him to do so.
The University disciplinary hearing was chaired by retired judge Moses Chinhengo. The disciplinary committee recommended our reinstatement but the Vice Chancellor Prof Victor Muzvidziwa turned down the decision and replaced it by dismissal.
We appealed to the labour court and the labour court judge Justice Kachambwa order university to reinstate us or to pay us damages without loss of salary and benefits if reinstatement is no longer possible.
The Vice-Chancellor turned down the decision again.
The other thing which worried us a lot is that the labour officer whom we reported to the issue of non-payment of overtime was urgently employed by the university leaving our case pending. That was done in a bid to kill our case.
I thank the labour court which dealt with the case fairly though the university challenged the decision since the money they use to challenge the cases its no from personal accounts but from the university coffers
Regards
In 2013 the university authorities forced security department to form its own workers association where I became the President, Vice President Reuben Musengeyi, Secretary general Farayi Chidowe, Committee members Obed Gonese, Ndakaziva Dombo and Kizito Takawira and the treasurer John Bvumbi.
After we were elected to represent our department we started to engage the university authorities airing our grievances chief among them non-payment of overtime. The promises from the management were fruitless until we registered our grievances with Ministry of labour.
The university was summoned by the labour officer for conciliation. It was represented by its lawyer Manners Jaravaza. The labour officer referred us to the arbitrator by the name Brazil Makururu who then gave us an award for internal settlement.
Instead of the internal settlement, the university through security officer Chademana started to threaten us telling us that we are digging our own graves. Those threats prompted treasurer Bvumbi and two committee members Takawira and Gonese to resign from the executive.
After they resigned the university then started to allege us of misappropriation of association funds and the disciplinary hearing was conducted. In the disciplinary hearing, we were denied legal representation. Only four of us appeared before disciplinary hearing since we did not resign from the association. The ones who resigned were not affected though we were using money together for association business. The university used their auditor to audit association books. Their auditor advised the university that he had no jurisdiction to audit the books of the association but the university forced him to do so.
We appealed to the labour court and the labour court judge Justice Kachambwa order university to reinstate us or to pay us damages without loss of salary and benefits if reinstatement is no longer possible.
The Vice-Chancellor turned down the decision again.
The other thing which worried us a lot is that the labour officer whom we reported to the issue of non-payment of overtime was urgently employed by the university leaving our case pending. That was done in a bid to kill our case.
I thank the labour court which dealt with the case fairly though the university challenged the decision since the money they use to challenge the cases its no from personal accounts but from the university coffers
Regards
Source - fired guard
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