High Court blocks Telecom and IT Professionals Union strike

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An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Frank Aboadwe Rockson, on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, issued an interim injunction to restrain members of the Telecom and IT Professionals Union,  from embarking on their intended industrial action which was to commence on the 15th of March 2021.

Three (3) institutions, MP Infrastructure (Ghana) Limited, Linfra Ghana Limited and Reine Ghana Limited, whose staff are members of the Union instituted an action against the Telecom and IT Professionals Union, seeking an interim injunction against their notice to go on strike and four reliefs in the substantive case.

Reliefs Sought in Substitute Case

The reliefs been sought by the three companies are;
1. A declaration that the industrial strike embarked upon by the Defendants (Telecom and IT Professionals Union) on the 15th of March 2021 is illegal.
2. A declaration that the Defendant’s members who are employees of the Plaintiffs (MP Infrastructure (Ghana) Limited, Linfra Ghana Limited and Reine Ghana Limited), are engaged in the provision of essential services and are prohibited from embarking on an industrial strike action.
3. An order compelling the Defendant to call off the industrial strike action embarked upon on the 15h of March 2021.
4. An interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendant’s members who are employees of the Plaintiffs from embarking on any industrial strike pending the final determination of this suit and lastly,
5. A perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant’s members who are employees of the Plainiffs from embarking on an industrial strike.

Background to the Case

According to the statement of claim filed by the three companies the National Labour Commission (NLC) “made an arbitral award and addressed all outstanding issues”. The NLC, they also said, “ordered the Plaintiffs to undertake a salary structure for the placement of staff”.

“The Plaintiffs say that in compliance with the NLC directives to undertake a job valuation and placement, the Plaintiffs engaged the services of the Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners (“CIHRMP”) to undertake the job valuation and placement. The Plaintiffs say that after the ClHRMP finished its work, they gave a summary of the Job Evaluation to the Defendant who upon receipt of the report, notified the NLC of its intension to embark on an industrial action”.

The statement of claim further noted, “The Plaintiffs say that upon a notice of industrial action to the NLC, the NLC directed the Plaintiffs to reconstitute the Job Evaluation Committee to enable the CIHRMP (the Consultant) explain the processes in the report to the Defendant”.
“The Plaintiffs say that due to challenges beyond their control, both parties were unable to meet the deadline of one month as directed by the NLC. The Plaintiffs say that both parties thereafter agreed to inform the NLC of their inability to meet the directed deadline and request for some more time to report back to the NLC”.

“Both parties were still in the process of agreeing on a suitable date for the reconstituted Job Evaluation Committee to meet the Consultant, only for the Defendant to, in a letter to the NLC on Friday, 12th March 2021, notify the NLC of embarking on an industrial strike action on the 15th of March 2021. The NLC in a directive dated 15th March 2021 called on the Defendant to appear before the Commission on the 18h of March, 2021 for a hearing of the issues in dispute and also to stay any intended strike action,” the statement of claim indicated.

“The Defendant’s members who are employees of the Plaintiffs provide an essential service and are generally prohibited from embarking on a strike action. Negotiations were ongoing and there was no deadlock to warant an industrial strike action by the Defendant. The Defendant failed to give the NLC, and the Plaintiff the mandated seven (7) days written notice of their intention to proceed on Strike. Unless restrained by this Honourable Court, the Defendant’s members will continue to embark on their strike to the detriment of the Plaintiffs’ business while compromising the use of all telecommunications networks with far reaching consequences on the entire nation,” the three applicant companies noted in their statement of claim.