INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION (ICU) & 61 OTHERS VS WORLD COOL MANUFACTURING LIMITED
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE LAURENDA OWUSU
Areas of Law
- Employment Law
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Plaintiffs, affiliated with the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union, claimed redundancy pay, salary arrears, and terminal benefits from their employer, World Cool Manufacturing Limited. The Defendant failed to contest the lawsuit, resulting in an interlocutory judgment. Plaintiffs provided evidence supporting their claims, leading the court to rule the Defendant's failure to negotiate redundancy packages and pay due entitlements as wrongful and in breach of the Labour Act, 2003. The court ordered the Defendant to make the necessary payments to the Plaintiffs, including interests and statutory contributions to SSNIT.
The Plaintiffs issued a Writ of Summons at the Registry of this Court claiming thefollowing reliefs: i. A declaration that the failure and or refusal by the Defendant to negotiate and agree with the Plaintiffs their redundancy package and other entitlements and or pay same to them upon the said Plaintiffs being declared redundant is in breach of Section 65 of the Labour Act, 2003, Act 651 and Article 11 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement applicable to the parties at the material time.
A declaration that the failure or refusal to pay the Plaintiffs their redundancy entitlements or end of service benefits and other allowances is wrongful.
A declaration that the failure or refusal to pay the Plaintiffs their salaries which had fallen into arrears since October, 2010 is wrongful.
An order for the payment of all outstanding redundancy payments to the Plaintiffs.
v. An order for the payment forthwith of the Plaintiffs’ arrears of salaries and any other entitlements found due.
Interest on (iv) and (v), respectively, from their dates of accrual up to the date of final payment at the current bank lending rate up to the date of final payment.
Damages for breach of Plaintiffs’ conditions of service.
Damages for fraud.
An order that the Defendant shall forthwith pay to the Plaintiffs concerned the terminal benefits lawfully due to those Plaintiffs who had formally resigned from the service of the Defendant before the declaration of redundancy together with appropriate interest thereon.
x. An order that Defendant shall pay to the Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) all statutory contributions and or deductions of Plaintiffs together with appropriate interest. xi.
Any other relief found due.
According to the 2nd to 62nd Plaintiffs they were employees of the Defendant company known as World Cool Manufacturing Limited but over the years changed its name and variously known as Jolly World Cool Limited and Jolly Paper Products Limited.
The 1st Plaintiff, the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), is the Trade Union of which Plaintiffs were affiliated and they are entitled to undertake all agreements and protect the interest of the employees in their industrial relationship with the Defendant as employer.
Plaintiffs averred that Defendant compelled some of them to proceed on leave without pay, without prior notice and without assigning any justifiable reason and that since they have not been recalled it amounts to summarily termination