FIGHTING BACK
Broke and unemployed man sues former employer for unfair dismissal
For someone who once earned close to P40 000 a month as an electrical engineer, the life of Boiki Ekenyane of Kanye has totally turned upside down ever since he was fired from work in April 2016. Broke and unemployed, nothing is going well for him. Life is stagnant and unpleasant but through it all, he wonders why he had to be ‘unfairly’ dismissed from work. He sat at Lobatse High Court recently looking a bit nervous and uncomfortable, wondering if Judge Matlhonogolo Phuthego would rule in his favour or not. He wants his former employer, Ampcontrol Company, to pay him P400 000 for unfairly dismissing him from work. Ampcontrol is an international company from Australia that specialises in the manufacture and supply of quality power solutions for energy intensive sectors such as mining, industrial, commercial and power utilities.
At the time Ekenyane was fired, the company was doing dome mining work for Debswana Jwaneng mine. “There is no valid reason why this court cannot hear this matter, as a consequence, it is ordered that the matter shall proceed to trial,” ruled Phuthego to the relief of Ekenyane at the time.
Phuthego told court that in 2020, Ampcontrol said it was no longer operative in Botswana having ceased operations for more than a year, therefore they argued that there was no need to continue with the case registered against them by Ekenyane in 2016.
However, CIPA records did not show that the company was in liquidation, meaning that proper processes were not followed if ever the company was no longer operative.
Trial date was set for November 24 this year. According to court papers, Ekenyane was dismissed following an accident that left one of his colleagues injured after being hit by a rock in 2015.
When making an inquiry into the accident, the Department of Mines Botswana found that the accident happened because of lack of supervision.
The report says Ekenyane who at the time of the accident, was electrical superintendent, was not aware of some procedures that needed to be followed before carrying out the work that was done.
Reasonable care was not taken, the area where the job was to be done was not inspected as is required given that the job was being done at night.
Further, the department of mines found that about five Ampcontrol employees failed to observe their responsibilities leading to the accident happening and thus recommended that if their appointment is continued it may likely cause bodily injury therefore the company should suspend how they have been operating for one year and provide necessary training to their appointees before they can be appointed as leaders in the company.
In February 2016, Ekenyane was suspended from work and his monthly salary slashed to below P30 000. In April 2016, he was sacked.
The employer said Ekenyane did not meet the minimum legal requirements to hold his position.
However, Ekenyane was given a letter appointing him as an ‘electrician in charge’ on the 25th of September 2015. But the accident that made him lose his job happened on the 7th of September 2015.
Ekenyane feels that at the time the accident happened, he was not in a position to supervise anyone or ensure what was safe or what was not. He was just an electrical superintendent with no powers to bark instructions.