Court overturns ZCTU's bid to retire official

The Labour Court has overturned the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions' (ZCTU) attempt to retire its long-serving secretary-general, Mr Japhet Moyo, ruling that the move was unlawful and procedurally flawed.

Delivering judgment number LC/H/142/2025 last week in Harare, Justice Lillian Kudya found that ZCTU's decision to force Moyo into retirement at the age of 60 lacked legal standing, violated his right to a fair hearing, and was unsupported by both his employment contract and the union's constitution.

"The decision to retire the applicant on the basis of disputed contractual terms and without affording him a fair hearing cannot be allowed to stand," ruled Justice Kudya.

Mr Moyo, who has served at the helm of ZCTU for many years, was informed of his retirement on August 7, 2024. He immediately challenged the decision, arguing that it breached his contract, misinterpreted internal rules, and violated recent amendments to the Labour Act.

The court upheld Moyo's argument that only employees have the right to decide when to retire, following changes to the Labour Act, and found that ZCTU's unilateral action was unlawful.

Justice Kudya also ruled that ZCTU failed to present any valid conditions of service to justify Moyo's retirement, and dismissed the union's claims that previous practices could be relied upon without proper contractual or legal backing.

"The court was not favoured with such conditions to assess their applicability… the decision appeared arbitrary," she noted.

Although the court did not order Moyo's immediate reinstatement, it set aside the retirement decision and directed ZCTU to reconsider the matter after giving Moyo a fair opportunity to be heard.

Both parties were ordered to bear their own legal costs.