UAP insurance company thereafter dismissed at least ten national staff for calling for improved pay, contrary to the Ministry of Labor’s order calling for the reinstatement of 10 fired staff.
By William Madouk
The Juba High Court has scheduled a UAP cross-examination session for mid-May in a case involving a UAP insurance company and fired UAP national staff.
Presiding Judge Francis Amum postponed the court session on Friday, setting a new date of May 15 to give the parties time to provide evidence about the firm’s alleged loan to staff as well as references to the calculation of benefits.
“The court has adjourned the session for the 15th to come with the calculation we made. And the court will compare. If we are still disputing it, both of us, the court will make a decision within the court,” said plaintiff’s attorney Marko Reech.
Mr. Reech claimed that the managing Director of the UAP company verified the wrongful termination, which is why he is settling former employees’ six-month salaries as a settlement.
“We have gone ahead with the cross-examination. There are some points that he [UAP boss] has actually confirmed as the issues of unfair termination, which he has paid six months for the unfair termination, plus the others,” he stated.
The advocate added that the last matter raised was a loan, in which the UAP company claims to have demanded money in hard currency from three of his clients, which has since been proven to be untrue.
“He [UAP boss] presents the loan in dollars, but he turned back again and confirmed that the loan was in pounds – that’s why the court asked us to go and refer the issues of loan and issues of calculation,” Reech adde.
The plaintiff’s attorney clarified that his clients contest the company’s current benefit calculation.
“Because the calculation that they have presented it is disputed by the former employee. And the court is asking us for our calculation that we have already made. But my client did not come with the calculation that they made.”
When asked whether they dropped the discrimination charge, he asserted that following the initial settlement of employment contracts and wrongful terminations, the matter of discrimination or unfair treatment will be discussed.
“No, the issues of discrimination are not even dropped. We didn’t touch it because we are going smoothly by confirming the employment contract and the unfair termination. And from there we are going to come later and tackle the issues of discrimination, which are the issues known,”
“Actually, because by targeting the leaders of the association, it means that you are discriminating against them.”
In October last year, UAP and its national staff were in dispute over unfair treatment and differing wages for nationals compared to their foreign expatriate counterparts.
That forced about 70 national staff to stage a sit-in strike, bringing the UAP insurance business to a standstill.
UAP insurance company thereafter dismissed at least ten national staff for calling for improved pay, contrary to the Ministry of Labor’s order calling for the reinstatement of 10 fired staff.
This, however, forced the UAP National Staff Association (UNSA) to initiate a legal case against the Insurer Company.