Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet)
Management of the Ghana Community Network Service Limited, GCNet, have filed an appeal application seeking a review of a ruling directing the company to pay its laid off staff their redundancy compensation.
The development comes after the Labour Court ruled in favour of staff based on provisions granted in the company’s Human Resource Policy Manual.
Reacting to the development, GCNET in a statement said the application for review, filed at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday by Counsel for management, Mr Bede Tukuu, is seeking the reversal of the ruling on seven grounds.
“Stipulating the grounds for appeal, the application avers that the labour court erred in law in holding that a worker’s association (GCNet Staff Welfare Association) is different from trade union under the law, indicating that the holding the court is contrary to the legal definition of a trade union under section 175 of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651),” the statement noted.
“Also, it avers that the court erred in law in holding that the GCNet Staff Welfare Association has the capacity to represent the workers and to collectively bargain and negotiate with management on behalf of the workers, although the association is not a registered and certified union.”
“This holding by the court is contrary to provisions of sections 83, 84, 88, 96 and 99 of the Labour Act 2003 (651) which preserves the right to collective bargaining to only workers” unions or associations registered and certified under the Act,” it added.
Additionally, GCNet says the Labour Court had incorrectly ruled on the matter. The Court in its ruling upheld that an arbitral award by the National Labour Commission requires that the redundancy compensation be fairly negotiated and paid in accordance with the provision.
An Accra High Court had earlier also dismissed a legal action by GCNet at the Labour Division of the Court on the basis of appealing to set aside an arbitration award for some 150 redundant staff of the company.
