GCNet challenges staff redundancy award in court

The Ghana Community Network Service Limited (GCNet) has filed a motion at the Accra High Court (Labour Division) challenging the enforcement of an arbitration award to its workers.

The company is seeking the intervention of the court to set aside the award which directed the management to pay a redundancy package of 30 per cent of salary and other allowances including rent, transport, fuel, car maintenance and education grant subsidies to the workers.

The court will move on October 15, 2020, by counsel for the applicant to be heard.

Applicant case

In the motion on notice filed on October 5, 2020, the applicant said in May 2020, the government terminated its contract with GCNet for trade facilitation services in the country, thereby creating a situation where some workers of the company had their employment terminated.

It said the dispute over how to compensate the affected workers going under the banner of GCNet Welfare Association led to the matter being sent to the National Labour Commission (NLC) for a resolution.

The applicant said the NLC referred the matter for arbitration and the proceedings were held under the law governing Alternative Dispute Resolution.

According to the plaintiff, the arbitration panel requested the parties to file their respective statements and submissions,to which they obliged.

“That in the submission of the applicant, the capacity of the Association to represent the workers, not having been registered with the requisite statutory bodies and in accordance with the requirement of law was raised by the applicant.

“That the arbitration panel ignored the objection raised by the applicant as regards the capacity of the association to represent the workers and proceeded to enter an award in favour of the association,” the motion said.

Registration

Furthermore, the applicant said it caused its lawyers to ascertain the registration status and capacity of the association to represent the workers and the results showed that the association was neither registered with the Registrar-General’s Department as a body corporate nor with the Office of the Chief Labour Officer as a trades union with a collective bargaining certificate to represent workers of the company.