Setting the cat amongst the pigeons: jurisdiction of the Labour Court under the new Labour Act

Abstract

It was a great honour for me, to be invited, to give the inaugural lecture for the Kempton Makamure Labour Law Lecture Series. There is no doubt that the late Kempton Makamure touched in an irreversible manner, all those who came in contact with him and there is no question that the history of the University of Zimbabwe and possibly the recent history of this country would never have been the same but for Kempton’s influence.3 My initial invitation was to give a presentation on the following topic: “Jurisdiction and Jurisprudence of the Labour Court and High Court under the new Labour Act”. In the process of preparing for this paper it became quite clear that a solid independent paper dealing solely with the issue of jurisdiction was required. Not simply because of the academic issues involved, but rather because of the clear confusion presently existing in the High Court of Zimbabwe. It is quite clear, to every practicing labour lawyer the divided opinion amongst High Court Judges on this issue and there is no question that the same will have to be resolved by the Supreme Court sooner rather than later.