A High Court judge has authorized some Air Zimbabwe workers to dispose of attached airline property to recover US$400,000 in unpaid salaries and allowances.
Attorney Selby Hwacha, representing Air Zimbabwe, said Justice Andrew Mutema dismissed with costs his urgent application for a stay of execution and instructed the deputy sheriff to sell Air Zimbabwe property attached in November last year.
The property includes some 16 motor vehicles, 100 computers, 10 lathes and five milling machines. The salaries and allowances concerned are for 2009 and 2010 work.
The strike by Air Zimbabwe pilots, engineers and cabin crew is in its third week.
Hwacha said he is exploring several options in order to save the airline property from being sold by the deputy sherrif. But Bulawayo lawyer Matshobana Ncube said the only option left for the national airline is to pay its workers all outstanding wages.
“They still have a chance to avoid the auctioning of the property through raising the needed cash and paying directly to the deputy sheriff together with some legal costs incurred by the messenger of court,” Ncube said.