By Tabora Bojang
A three-member panel of judges at the Industrial Tribunal Court had made a ruling that it has the jurisdiction to hear a case of alleged unlawful dismissal filed by two university lecturers, Matarr Njie and Dr Alieu Gibba.
The duo is seeking a declaration from the court that their dismissal as lecturers of the University of The Gambia is unfair and a breach of their contract of employment.
They also want the court to order their immediate reinstatement, repayment of salary and allowances due to them, a compensation of D5 million as damages, and payment of D200,000 as legal and administrative fees.
However, the counsel representing the UTG….. had raised preliminary objections over the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the case.
The counsel argued that the lecturers are civil servants to whom the Labour Act does not apply and that the parties whom the suit is brought against are not before the court in addition to the fact that the 2nd defendant [Acting Registrar Bobo Baldeh] is sued in his personal name whilst the complaint was done in an official capacity.
The defense counsel further declared that Gibba and Njie being employees of a tertiary institution, are governed by the Tertiary and Higher Education Act and that legal actions they are to file should have been with the UTG tribunal which he said renders the Industrial Tribunal incompetent to hear this case.
Responding to these objections, the lawyer of the two lecturers Malick HB Jallow, argued that the suit is against UTG and there is nothing on ….. stating that Gibba and Njie are civil servants.
He also said the section relied upon by the defense that the suit should be before the UTG Tribunal is optional and cannot oust the jurisdiction of the Industrial Tribunal.
In their ruling, the chairman of the Industrial Tribunal MS Jallow and members J Krubally and M Sankareh stated that the UTG does not form part of the civil service and therefore its employees cannot be civil servants.
The tribunal further ruled that there was no ‘sufficient evidence’ before it to determine at this point whether 2nd defendant Bobo Baldeh acted in his ‘personal capacity or official capacity’ and therefore his name remains in the suit unless further arguments are advanced.
According to the chairman, the tribunal has jurisdiction to try cases relating to individual claims arising under a contract of employment, agency contracts and labour related matters. “The objections raised are overruled and the plaintiffs ordered to proceed in proving their case after which the defendants are to react to the claims against them,” the court ruled.
