DISTRIBUTED BY VERITAS TRUST Tel: [263] [4] 794478 Fax & Messages [263] [4] 793592 E-mail: veritas@mango.zw Veritas makes every effort to ensure the provision of reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied. Judgment No. SC 32/18 Civil Appeal No. SC 807/16 Arbitrator Manase held that the purported retrenchment of the respondent was null and void as it had not been approved by the Minister and therefore the respondent was still an employee of the appellant. He ordered that he be reinstated to his former employment with the appellant. Aggrieved by this decision, the appellant appealed to the Labour Court on the grounds that the Arbitrator erred in not finding that acceptance of the retrenchment package even on a purported “without prejudice” basis destroyed any future claims in that respect, by the respondent. The appellant also averred that the Arbitrator erred grossly at law in holding himself to have jurisdiction to determine the conclusiveness or otherwise of the award by Arbitrator Bvumbe. The Labour Court dismissed the appeal. Having unsuccessfully sought leave to appeal to this Court, in the Labour Court, leave was sought and granted by this Court on 14 December 2016. This Court is now seized with the appeal. It has been noted that in the Labour Court the appellant unsuccessfully argued that Arbitrator Manase lacked the jurisdiction to determine the lawfulness or otherwise of the award by Arbitrator Bvumbe. In other words, Arbitrator Manase, who at law enjoyed parallel jurisdiction with Arbitrator Bvumbe, could not competently interfere with the latter’s award. The appellant, on appeal to this Court, did not directly allude to the matter in its grounds of appeal. In my view however, the question of Arbitrator Manase’s jurisdiction to hear the matter is an important question of law whose determination may effectively dispose of the appeal. In any case it is also important to consider the effect his award had on Arbitrator Bvumbe’s award. It was also helpful 4