SEBASTIAN DZAISU & 92 ORS v. GHANA BREWERIES LTD.

SOPHIA ADINYIRA (MRS.), J.S.C.: The Plaintiffs/Appellants (hereinafter called the appellants) were employed as casual workers by Ghana Breweries Ltd, the Defendant/Respondent (hereinafter called the Respondent), in various periods ranging between the years 1993 to April 2003. The appellants claimed they did the same work as the permanent workers and yet were denied all other benefits and allowances, which the Respondent made available to the regular or permanent workers under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Some of these benefits were particularised in Paragraph 5 of the statement of claim to include: overtime, night allowance, annual leave, back pay and participation in credit and trade unions. According to the appellants they made several petitions to the respondent to upgrade and make them permanent employees without success. They also wrote to the Labour Office for help but to no avail, so they instituted this action before the High Court (Fast Track Division) Accra, claiming:

i. A Declaration that:

[a] The employment by the Defendant of the Plaintiffs as casual workers and others as regular workers for the same work on different terms or conditions of employment;

[b] The Defendant’s failure to ensure that the Plaintiffs received or had adequate rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and period of holidays with pay;

[c] The purported mass termination of the plaintiffs’ appointments or dismissal howsoever called were wrongful, discriminatory, unjust, unfair, unconscionable and offend articles 16[1], 21[1] [e] and 24 of the Constitution of 1992 as well as the Labour Decree 1967 [NLCD.157]; and

[d] The Plaintiff’s were entitled to be placed on the same terms and service conditions as that of the other regular workers of the Defendant, including, but not limited to the full package under the CBA and all other benefits paid by the Defendant to the regular workers from time to time.

[ii] An order directed to the Defendant to compute subject to verification by a Court Appointed Expert and pay to the Plaintiffs allowances, benefits, entitlements which were ordinarily or otherwise available to the regular workers and to which they were entitled but were denied, with interest thereon from respective dates on which the amounts first became due.

[iii] An order for the appointment of a Court Expert to receive from the Defendant all relevant record books and information relating to Plaintiffs’ entitlements, allow