Lydia Chinyaukira v Premier Tobacco Auction Floors (Private) Limited

The applicant was a former employee of the respondent whose employment was terminated in March 2018. She claimed arrear salaries and entitlements from the respondent. When the claim was not honoured, she referred the dispute to a Labour Officer who ruled in her favour on 19 March 2019. The applicant then approached the Labour Court for confirmation of the ruling. On 6 December 2019, the Labour Court confirmed the award, ordering the respondent to pay USD 36,108.00 (less USD 1,080.03 for an outstanding loan) in respect of salary arrears and benefits. The respondent did not comply with the award. The respondent tendered payment in RTGS (local currency) at a 1:1 rate, which the applicant rejected. The respondent also attempted to appeal to the Supreme Court but withdrew the application on 4 August 2020. The applicant then approached the High Court to register the Labour Court award as an order of court in terms of section 93(5b) of the Labour Act.

• Whether a Labour Court award denominated in United States dollars is registrable as an order of the High Court after USD ceased to be legal tender in Zimbabwe
• Whether the respondent fully discharged its obligation by making payment in local currency (RTGS) instead of United States dollars as specified in the award
• Whether the High Court can interrogate the merits and propriety of a Labour Court award when hearing an application for registration
• Whether section 4(1)(d) of S.I. 33/19 read with section 22(1)(d) of the Finance Act No. 7 of 2019 required payment of the award in local currency at 1:1 exchange rate

1. The award by the Labour Court issued under Case No. LC/H/LRA/151/19 dated 6 December 2019 is registered as an order of the High Court. 2. The respondent shall pay the applicant's costs of suit.

When the High Court is seized with an application to register a Labour Court award under section 93(5b) of the Labour Act, it does not inquire into the merits or propriety of that award. The court's role is limited to registration for enforcement purposes. As long as an award stands unchallenged, the High Court is obliged to register it. Arguments about the legality or propriety of an award (including the currency in which it is denominated) must be raised before the Labour Court during confirmation proceedings, not for the first time at the registration stage before the High Court. The High Court cannot vary or substitute terms of a Labour Court award when exercising its registration function, as this would amount to exercising review or appellate powers which are not engaged in registration applications. Payment made contrary to the terms of an extant Labour Court award does not discharge the debtor's obligations.

The court observed that section 23(1) of the Finance Act provides that foreign currencies (including USD) are no longer legal tender in Zimbabwe from the second effective date (24 June 2019). The court noted obiter that in cases where judgment is granted in USD, such amount would have to be paid in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate. However, the court emphasized that the question of enforceability of a USD-denominated award did not arise for determination at the registration stage. The court also noted that while subsequent statutory instruments allowed the use of USD as a medium of exchange in certain transactions, this does not make USD legal tender in Zimbabwe. The court declined to award interest as it was not pursued in submissions and would have been imprudent to grant since it was not a component of the Labour Court award being registered.

This case clarifies the limited role of the High Court when hearing applications for registration of Labour Court awards under section 93(5b) of the Labour Act. It establishes that the High Court cannot interrogate the merits or propriety of a Labour Court award at the registration stage, and that such challenges must be raised at the appropriate forum (the Labour Court during confirmation proceedings or on appeal). The case also addresses the interplay between labour law enforcement mechanisms and currency legislation in Zimbabwe, particularly following the reintroduction of local currency and the cessation of the USD as legal tender. It demonstrates that parties cannot raise issues about the validity of an award for the first time at the registration stage when those issues could and should have been raised earlier in the proceedings.