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A total of 127 former employees of Marcopolo Tiles Company Limited have sued their former employer in the Lusaka High Court for alleged unlawful and unfair dismissal.
The workers, represented by Chisowa Chambers, are each demanding over K150,000 in compensation for loss of employment, unpaid benefits, and emotional distress.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs—led by Easy Hayunga, Best Hangoma, and Jonathan Mwape—were employed by Marcopolo Tiles, located at Plot No. 688 off Mungwi Road in Lusaka.
They allege that in April 2025, the company issued backdated employment contracts effective from November 26, 2024, to November 25, 2025.
The contracts promised a 10 percent salary increment and arrears for the period November 2024 to March 2025.
However, the employees claim only a few received the increment, and no arrears were paid despite the company’s assurances. When some supervisors followed up with the Human Resources Department, they were told the arrears had already been paid and were subjected to statutory deductions such as NAPSA and PAYE.
The workers requested payslips for verification, but the company allegedly failed to provide them. Although the company promised to issue payslips on May 9, 2025, the plaintiffs say they were instead handed dismissal letters on May 8 and 9. Some employees were then given payslips dated April 30, showing only seven months’ salary and five months of gratuity.
The plaintiffs argue their termination was unlawful and violated provisions of the Employment Code Act No. 3 of 2019, as no disciplinary procedures were followed. They believe their only wrongdoing was questioning their pay and arrears.
On May 27, 2025, their lawyers served a formal demand letter to the company. Two days later, the employees received unexplained payments, which the company said were unrelated to their demands.
The workers claim they suffered financial loss, trauma, mental anguish, and humiliation, and were pushed out of employment after staging a peaceful protest.
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They are seeking multiple reliefs, including:
A declaration that their dismissal was unlawful and unfair;
Computation and payment of unpaid arrears from November 26, 2024, to May 5, 2025;
Salaries and gratuity payments from May 9 to November 25, 2025;
K50,000 each for trauma and mental anguish;
K10,000 each in aggravated damages;
K10,000 each in punitive damages;
K30,000 each for pain and suffering;
K50,000 each for loss of employment and earning capacity.
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