By Isaac Salima:
The Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Blantyre Friday ordered the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) to pay ex-employees K18.5 billion over unsafe and unfair labour practices.
The IRC, through deputy chairperson Tamanda Nyimba, also found out that there was violation of constitutional right which calls for employees to be protected from unfair labour practices.
It also instructed lawyers for the two parties to decide how much should be paid to the ex-employees as minimum compensation for unfair dismissal.
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Up to 3,282 former employees dragged Admarc to court.
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Lawyer for the applicants, Ackim Ndhlovu said that they would reflect on the ruling.
“We have heard the ruling, some things are okay and others are not. Of course there could have been more to be awarded to the applicants but at least something is better than none,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from Admarc lawyer Alfred Majamanda.
The former employees’ leader Alex Malikebu said he was happy with the ruling.
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“We are happy that finally the truth has been known. At least we will have something,” he said.
In 2022, Admarc retrenched all its employees as part of its restructuring process.
However, led by Malikebu, the employees challenged the decision in court, claiming the dismissal was unfair.
The applicants were initially demanding K52.3 billion in compensation.
The court did not rule that the ex-employees be paid the amount as we reported in Friday’s The Daily Times but rather that it was a proposed amount.
