The Labour Court has dismissed an appeal by Modus Media (Pvt) Ltd, a special business unit that publishes the Financial Gazette, and Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, publisher of the Daily News, after the two media companies sought exemption from paying gazetted minimum wages in the printing, packaging and newspaper industry.
Jester Media Services (JMS) is the holding company for both entities. JMS also owns and operates 3Ktv, an independent television station which was licensed in 2020.
In a judgement delivered in Harare under Case No. LC/H/892/25, Justice Evidence Gonesi ruled that the company’s appeal lacked merit and upheld the earlier decision by the National Employment Council (NEC) for the Printing, Packaging and Newspaper Industry to reject the exemption request.
The case arose after Modus Media and Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd applied for exemption from paying the industry’s gazetted minimum wages.
Their initial applications were unsuccessful, although they had previously been granted a temporary exemption in November 2024 allowing them to convert the gazetted minimum salaries to NEC prevailing rates.
However, the NEC Appeals Committee later found that both organisations had failed to comply with the terms of that exemption and only communicated their financial incapacity several months later in May 2025 while seeking further relief.
The companies argued in court that the committee had ignored evidence showing their dire financial position and operational constraints, which they said made it impossible to pay the required wages.
They also challenged the committee’s findings that their works council was improperly constituted and that their exemption application contained procedural defects.
But the NEC, represented by its legal counsel, opposed the appeal, arguing that the companies had approached the court with “dirty hands” because they had not complied with the earlier exemption order granted in 2024.
The NEC also maintained that the appeal did not present compelling reasons or changed circumstances to justify a reconsideration of the exemption.
In his ruling, Justice Gonesi said several of the grounds of appeal were unclear, verbose and failed to identify specific errors by the Appeals Committee.
The court also found that the committee was justified in concluding that the appellants lacked good faith after failing to comply with the previous exemption terms.
“In relation to the 3rd ground of appeal, the committee correctly found that the appellants were approaching the committee with dirty hands.
“The dirty hands principle is a principle that people are not allowed to come to court seeking the court’s assistance if they are guilty of a lack of probity or honesty in respect of the circumstances which cause them to seek relief from the court.
“The dirty hands doctrine is a principle that a court will not come to the aid of one who is in defiance of the law. It is a principle that one who wants the help of the courts of law must first comply with the law before the court grants him or her audience,” the judge noted.
The judge further held that the findings by the NEC Appeals Committee were neither irrational nor unreasonable to warrant interference by the court.
“The grounds of appeal being without merit be and are hereby dismissed,” the court ruled.
The Labour Court consequently dismissed the appeal and made no order as to costs.
The ruling effectively upholds the NEC’s position that the companies must comply with the industry’s gazetted minimum wage structure.
