Justice
Lucy
Mungwari
postponed
the
hearing
to
another
date
after
failing
to
log
in
to
the
Integrated
Electronic
Case
Management
System
(IECMS),
a
virtual
case
management
system
recently
rolled
by
the
Judicial
Service
Commission
(JSC).
Said
Edson
Matika
representing
the
unions:
The
court
faced
technical
challenges
with
the
IECMS
virtual
system.
This
resulted
in
the
case
being
postponed
to
Wednesday
27
September
2023
at
9
am
on
the
same
platform.
The
IECMS
(Integrated
Electronic
Case
Management
System)
was
expected
to
bring
about
improvements
such
as
electronic
case
filing,
automatic
case
allocation
to
judges,
electronic
case
tracking,
and
virtual
hearings,
aiming
to
streamline
the
judicial
process
from
filing
to
finalisation.
However,
the
system
has
faced
significant
resistance,
with
litigants
and
lawyers
expressing
concerns
about
delays
in
delivering
justice.
In
the
current
case,
several
unions,
including
the Zimbabwe
Teachers
Association
(ZIMTA),
the Progressive
Teachers
Union
of
Zimbabwe
(PTUZ), Amalgamated
Rural
Teachers
Union
of
Zimbabwe,
Educators
Union
of
Zimbabwe
(EUZ),
and
the
Civil
Service
Employees
Association
(CSEA),
are
suing
the
government,
alleging
violations
of
their
labor
rights.
The
unions’
application
challenges
the
Public
Service
Act,
arguing
that
it
undermines
the
labor
rights
protected
by
the
constitution
by
granting
unilateral
decision-making
power
to
the
Public
Service
minister
and
the
Commission.
They
are
advocating
for
collective
bargaining,
which
allows
unions
to
negotiate
employment
terms,
including
pay,
benefits,
working
hours,
leave,
and
workplace
safety
policies.
The
unions
seek
a
court
declaration
that
sections
19,
20,
and
31
of
the
Act
are
unconstitutional
as
they
facilitate
the
violation
of
their
members’
labor
rights.
They
argue
that
the
Commission
and
the
Public
Service
minister
have
failed
to
engage
in
meaningful
consultations
with
public
service
employees,
thus
infringing
on
their
labor
rights.
The
respondents
in
this
case
include
the
Public
Service
Commission
(PSC),
President
Mnangagwa,
Finance
Minister Mthuli
Ncube,
the
Public
Service
minister,
and
the
Attorney
General.
Post
published
in:
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