General News of Tuesday, 19 February 2008

Source: GNA

Former Graphic workers to go to Court

Accra, Feb. 19, GNA - Mr. Ray Kakrabah Quarshie, an Accra legal practitioner, will on February 27 move a motion on notice at the Supreme Court (SC) for further direction on its order on behalf of 155 former employees of the Graphic Communications Group which it re-deployed in October 1993.

In its judgment of July 13, 2007 on the matter between the Corporation and its former employees, the SC stated, among other things that, "the parties can apply to this court in case of any irresolvable difficulties for direction".

Counsel said the motion on notice had become necessary because Graphic Communications Group had failed to implement the court's judgment which ordered it to pay the ex-workers their lawful entitlements.

He will therefore pray the SC to give further directions as to the execution of the order in its judgment.

When Graphic re-deployed the 155 workers in 1993, it paid compensation packages of two and four months' salaries respectively to its junior and senior employees, irrespective of the number of years they had served. Contrary to laid down regulations, the severance award of two and four months' salary paid to the affected workers was not enshrined in the corporation's Collective Bargaining Agreement at the time. Not satisfied with the package, the ex-workers took the matter to the High Court and in 1995, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Gyamerah Tawiah ruled in their favour.

Six months later, Graphic challenged the High Court's decision at the Court of Appeal and thereupon the matter was transferred to the SC in 2004 for proper interpretation of the High Court's judgment. Despite the SC's decision of July 2005, the Corporation has still not complied with the court's order and this has compelled the former employees to take the matter back to the SC for further directions as contained in its July 13 judgment.