AMH HR Manager Threatens to Fire Workers Over Arbitration – Eduzim News

By A Correspondent| Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) Human Resources Manager Jacob Sukhali threatened to fire all employees who took the company to arbitration during a tense meeting with the media group’s marketing staff, according to multiple employees present at the gathering.

The meeting, held at the company’s Harare offices, was intended to address operational matters within the marketing department but quickly devolved into a confrontation over the ongoing labour dispute that has seen workers secure an arbitration ruling in their favour—only for the company to appeal the award at the Labour Court.

Attendees who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity described Sukhali as visibly agitated when the subject of the arbitration arose. “He told us in plain terms that anyone who was part of the arbitration process should start looking for other jobs because AMH would not keep them,” one marketing staff member who was in the room said. “He said the company views the arbitration as an act of betrayal and that management will ‘clean house’ once everything is finalised.”

Another employee confirmed the account, adding: “It was a marketing meeting, but he turned it into a warning session. The message was clear—if your name is on that arbitration list, you are a marked person. We all just sat there in shock.”

The threats have intensified an already volatile atmosphere at the Trevor Ncube-owned publishing group, which operates NewsDay, The Standard, Zimbabwe Independent, and the Heart & Soul broadcasting platforms, even as an independent arbitrator ruled in the workers’ favour on claims related to unpaid salaries and withdrawn benefits.

That legal victory, however, remains unenforced. AMH management has filed an appeal with the Labour Court, a procedural move that stays the execution of the arbitration award and means workers cannot yet access the back-pay and restored benefits ordered by the arbitrator. The appeal effectively buys the company more time while employees continue to endure financial hardship.

Workers have endured more than a year of erratic and partial salary payments, with the most recent disbursements reportedly amounting to between US$50 and US$130 described as instalments toward arrears from early 2025. Staff further allege that the company has unilaterally scrapped fuel allocations and airtime allowances, ceased issuing payslips, and continued deducting union fees and medical aid contributions without remitting them to the relevant bodies.

Labour law experts note that while AMH is entitled to appeal the arbitration ruling, threatening employees with dismissal for exercising their statutory right to pursue arbitration is explicitly prohibited under Zimbabwe’s Labour Act and constitutes unlawful retaliation.

Critics within the workforce allege that the company’s financial distress narrative masks deeper mismanagement, pointing to reports of senior officials constructing luxury homes while workers go unpaid. Some employees have signalled they will seek to have AMH placed under judicial management if the situation does not improve.

Trevor Ncube recently issued a public apology acknowledging the company’s failure to meet payroll obligations but did not address the alleged intimidation of staff or the specifics of the marketing department meeting.

Neither Jacob Sukhali nor AMH management responded to requests for comment regarding the marketing meeting threats or the ongoing Labour Court appeal. A date for the appeal hearing has not yet been set.

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