By YVONNE CHATE –

TWENTY-NINE employees from the Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) have sued company management for wrongfully deduction of 50 percent of their terminal benefits.
Wedina Kapata a sales manager at DAPP Mwinilunga branch and other 28 workers have sued DAPP in the Industrial Relations Court seeking to be placed on early retirement and be paid their full terminal benefits.
Ms Kapata said the company’s conduct to deduct the 50 per cent share of the worker’s benefits was tantamount to unilateral vitiate of their conditions of service.
Ms Kapata testified during a recent hearing that the affected DAPP employees were last year informed that management would weaver 50 per cent of their benefits citing lack of funds.
She said DAPP project coordinator Amos Lwando told the workers that the company would shut down if they were paid their dues in full.
She said the company also forced some workers to sign new fixed term contracts under the 2014 conditions of service while others received letters of termination of employment.
She said the affected workers were working under the 2006 conditions of service that entailed that one could retire once they had worked for more than 10 years which was before the company introduced the 2014 conditions of service which had no such provisions.
Ms Kapata asked the court to compel DAPP management to grant them their full terminal benefits without weaving half of it under the 2006 conditions of service.
She said those that were seeking to sign a one-year fixed term contract could do so only if benefits were paid and should not be victimised.
Hearing continues on August 27, this year.