CAPS United dragged to court

By Tendai Kamhungira

CAPS United Football Club has been dragged to the High Court by its former employee, who filed an application demanding $13 500 from the soccer team after the two parted ways.

In the application, Mercy Dare, a labour officer employed by the Public Service ministry and Masarira Silingwani, who was employed by the soccer team as a liaison officer, are the applicants, while CAPS United is cited as the respondent.

According to court papers, Dare and Silingwani approached the High Court to register a Labour Court order in terms of Section 92B (3) of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01) as read with Section 93 (5a), (b) of the Labour Amendment Act No.5 of 2015.

This section mandates that a confirmed ruling that has not been complied with must be registered in a court with jurisdiction, on an application by the arbitrator who dealt with the matter.

“The Labour Court ruling is in the total sum of $13 500, which is within the monetary jurisdiction of this honourable court and therefore registrable with it.

“The applicant (Dare) made a ruling on the 17th of December 2015. The matter involved allegations of unfair dismissal, non-payment of salaries, allowances and terminal benefits,” the court heard.

She told the court that she went on to hand down a ruling that Silingwani be paid $13 500 and wants the order to be registered with the High Court.

“The respondent (CAPS United) having failed to comply with the court’s judgment order, it is on that basis that this application is being made for the purposes of enforcement of the court judgment order.

“As such in order to compel the respondent to comply with the Labour Court order, I have approached this honourable court for registration of the said order,” Dare said.

In the Labour Court, Silingwani said that he was engaged with the football club in 2008 as a security officer.

“He avers that it was a verbal contract where parties had agreed on payment of a monthly salary of $400 from January 2009,” the court noted.

Silingwani, the court was told, was later appointed club administrator in 2013, before being made the liason officer.

“The claimant produced business identity cards to prove his appointments. He also submitted that the company did not provide any pay slips but would use wage record sheets on which the employees would append their signatures against the salaries paid,” the Labour Court noted.

CAPS United on the other hand had urged the Labour Court not to entertain the case, adding that it was only agreeable to claims between May 2013 and May 2015 only.

The football team said that Silingwani had indeed offered security services from 2009 but was doing that on voluntary basis between 2009 and 2012 and was only entitled to travelling allowances. Daily News