<p class="mb-5" id="contentDlCitation" hidden>[2008]DLCA6995</p> <div class="restriction-wrapper"> <div class="container-lg"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12 restricted-content"> <div class="restricted-content-img-wrapper"> <div class="lock-icon bounce-7"> <img class="" src="https://www.dennislawgh.com/dl-assets/dl-images/lock-content.png" alt="Subscription based content"> </div> </div> <a href="https://www.dennislawgh.com/login" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" style="font-family: 'open sans'; text-transform: capitalize; border-radius: 8px"> Login to Read Full Case </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; color:#00B0F0">EMMANUEL KOFI KUMI & 3 ORS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">(PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; color:#00B0F0">GHANA AGRO FOOD COMPANY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:center; line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">(DEFENDANTS/ RESPONDENTS)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">CIVIL APPEAL NO: H1/233/2006 </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""> DATE: 14<sup>TH</sup> FEBRUARY, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">MR. NII AKWEI BRUCE THOMPSON FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">MR. OSAFO BUABENG FOR DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">CORAM: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">ARYEETEY J.A. (PRESIDING), BAFFOE BONNIE J.A., YAW APPAU J.A.</span><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">ARYEETEY, J. A.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">By their writ of summons the plaintiffs/appellants claim the following reliefs: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">(a) A declaration that the dismissal of the plaintiffs from the employment of the defendant company or the purported termination of the contract of employment between the plaintiffs and the defendant on or around the 1st of December 2003 was unlawful, wrongful and ultra vires the Collective Bargaining Agreements. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">(b) An order for the restoration to the plaintiffs of their salaries, benefits, entitlements and other emoluments wrongfully withheld or forfeited during the period of wrongful dismissal, including an order for negotiation for payments of all redundancy benefits due. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">(c) General damages for wrongful termination of employment and loss of service.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:2.25pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""> The plaintiffs/appellants base their claim on the following alleged facts: On the 1st of December 2003 the defendant company embarked upon illegal lockout as defined by the Industrial Relations Act, 1965 (Act 299) by locking out its employees including the plaintiffs. On top of all that the Management of the defendant company issued a notice dismissing all unionised workers with effect from that same day even though they had done nothing under both the Senior Staff Collective Bargaining Agreement (SSCBA) and the Junior Staff Collective Bargaining Agreement (JSCBA) to warrant such hasty dismissal notice. To the plaintiffs therefore the purported notice of dismissal was arbitrary, wrongful and ultra vires the SSCBA and the JSCBA and in fact the allegations of misconduct by the employees of the defendant company upon which the dismissal notice was based was a mere pretext under which management of the company sought to carry out a redundancy exercise involving employees of the company which the company had been unable to do on earlier date due to monetary considerations. Incidentally provisions of both the SSCBA and the JSCBA entitled the defendant company to summarily dismiss both senior and junior employees whose conduct violated the relevant provisions of either of the two Collective Bargaining Agreements. It is also the stand of the defendants that the Memorandum of Understanding which was signed by the defendants and representatives of the employees of the company sought to vary the provisions of both the SSCBA and the JSCBA. The plaintiffs contend that what the Memorandum of Understanding sought to do was to legitimize the unlawful dismissal of the plaintiffs and to provide for temporary lay off of workers which was unknown to both the SSCBA and the JSCBA. In effect the defendants have permanently laid off the plaintiffs without paying their accrued benefits since they have in actual fact engaged new workers without giving the plaintiffs the first option of employment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:2.25pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""> The defendants/respondents on the other hand gave the background to the Memorandum of Understanding which the plaintiffs object to as follows: Sometime prior to the incident of 1st December 2003 the management of the defendant company conveyed a meeting with the plaintiffs’ local union to find out the reasons for the industrial unrest on the company’s premises involving its employees including the plaintiffs. The workers claimed that it was the company's Human Resources Manager, Mr. Ocran who was the cause of the unrest. The company therefore requested Mr. Ocran to proceed on lease for the matter to be resolved amicably. The defendant company subsequently referred the matter to the Labour Department and the local union of the workers were invited formally to come for the matter to be gone into. Thereupon the local union declared its stand that it was not interested in amicable resolution of the said matter. Therefore following a directive from the Labour Department Mr. Ocran, the Human Resources Manager was requested to resume work. On the arrival of Mr. Ocran at the defendants' premises the workers including the plaintiffs led by the first plaintiff caused mayhem by flying red flags at all conspicuous places of the company’s premises, sounded the sirens of the factory and caused extensive damage to the defendants' property including the doors of the administrative building. They forcefully entered the offices of Frank Ocran and assaulted him and refused to work until Frank Ocran was dismissed which was contrary to labour regulations. The defendants contend that the Memorandum of Understanding was as a result of meetings conveyed by the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment a</main>
