Court shoots down 88 former employees of National Security Council

The Human Rights Court Thursday dismissed a suit filed by 88 former employees of the National Security Council (NSC) against their employer.

The plaintiffs, who were given three months’ salary on termination of their appointments, claimed in their suit that their appointments were wrongfully terminated because they were perceived to be political appointees of the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

They, therefore, prayed the court to make a declaration that they were entitled to end-of-service benefits, as stipulated by the conditions governing their employment, and an order for the payment of such benefits.

According to them, the three months’ salary that was paid to them was in partial fulfilment of the conditions governing termination and they were, therefore, entitled to the full payment of their end-of-service benefits.

Termination

In its ruling, however, the court, presided over by Mr Justice Dominic Denis Adjei, an Appeal Court judge with additional jurisdiction as a High Court judge, said the three months’ salary paid to the plaintiffs was in accordance with the Security and Intelligence Act (1996) which governed the employment of security personnel in the country.

According to the court, per the act, apart from the three months’ salary, the plaintiffs were not entitled to any end-of-service benefits as a result of the termination of their appointment.

“From the evidence on record, I am satisfied that no condition for termination of appointment was provided in the conditions of service,’’ it held.

It added that per the act, an employee could resign by giving one month’s notice and, therefore, it was “fair that the National Security Coordinator can also terminate appointments by giving the plaintiffs three months’ salary and notice’’.

Unlawful

On the issue of whether the appointments of the plaintiffs were unlawfully terminated, the court stated that the plaintiffs failed to prove that their appointments had been terminated because they were perceived to be political appointees of the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

“This is a civil case and, therefore, the burden of proof was on the plaintiffs to prove that their dismissal was unlawful. However, apart from stating it in their statement of claim, they failed to prove in their pleadings that they were dismissed because they were appointed under the previous administration,’’ the court further held.

According to the court, the plaintiffs actually filed the suit in relation to their benefits and not because the termination of their appointment was unlawful.

Angry reaction

The ruling did not go down well with the plaintiffs, as some of them hurled curses and insults on the NSC and the judge, alleging that the ruling was just to please the ruling party.

Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr Augustine Asafo Adjei, who stood in for Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, however, announced that he would go on appeal.

“We will definitely appeal after we have received a copy of the ruling and analysed it,” he told journalists after the proceedings.