Tema (Greater Accra) 26 August 2001
One hundred and sixty seven former employees of SDV Ghana Limited, (formerly Delmas Shipping) have sued the company at a Tema High Court for wrongful deductions and underpayment of wages.
In their statement of claim, the workers mentioned Robert Koranteng Larbi, SDV's Operations Manager and Samuel K. Duodu, Headman, as second and third respondents.
The workers led by George Ofoe Thompson said contrary to the agreed wage rate of one dollar per hour, Larbi (second defendant) claiming to be acting on the instructions of the Company rather paid them 1,000 cedis per hour.
They said the second defendant also wrongfully deducted 25 per cent of each sailor's wage.
The writ filed on behalf of the workers by Mr Abraham Ossei Aidooh, a Tema Lawyer and MP for Tema West brings to two the number of similar cases brought against the SDV. Thirty-nine employees filed the first case in July 1997.
The ex-employees are demanding an account of all monies being part of their wages, which were wrongfully withheld or deducted and the refund of such monies with interest.
In the case of the 39 former employees led by Nana Antwi Gyanin, the Tema High Court presided over by Justice K. K. Acquaye on January 23, this year ruled in their favour and ordered the payment of their monies totally over 1.6 billion cedis.
In the course of the trial, SDV dropped the plaintiffs from going to sea to intimidate and cow them into abandoning the case compelling the workers to bring contempt charges against the defendants.
The court convicted the defendants of contempt and fined them 500,000 cedis each, while E. K. Ackah, former Chairman of the National Union of Seamen (NUS) and third defendant was fined one million cedis.
In another development, negotiations between the counsels of the two parties on the payment of the judgement debt to the 39 ex-employees have proved to be interminable forcing them to go back to the court.
However, Justice Acquaye ruling on the issue, said SDV should have filed an appeal or go into execution but surprisingly neither of those options were taken but rather embarked on what they referred to as negotiations, which proved interminable.
He said the court has already given its judgement six months ago and, therefore, considers the matter closed, adding, any interminable negotiations would not receive the blessing of the court.
GRi./
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