Workers of Standard Chartered Bank, who were laid off have threatened to drag the bank to court if it fails to pay them their salary arrears.
The workers believe the bank ought to pay them salaries for the period they have been out of work in addition to the period they have been back at work.
This comes a day after an Accra High Court cautioned and discharged the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, Kweku Bedu-Addo and the bank’s Head of HR West Africa Rosie Ebe-Arthur, after it held that the bank had duly purged itself of the contempt it was cited for which the two management members were held liable.
Lawyer for the affected workers, Prince Fredrick Nii Ashie Neequaye in an interview with Citi Business News said, Standard Chartered bank has up to June 20 to pay his clients all outstanding salaries or risk being hurled to court again.
“In my view I think that the judge had the right to tell them to go back and purge themselves properly of the contempt. We will adopt the wait and see attitude and see if they will pay the salaries of my clients for March, April and May. We are in June now but they have not been paid salaries” he said.
He warned that the workers will not succumb to any unhealthy tactics to punish them for using legal means to demand for their rights.
“We think that we deserve to be treated in a more humane manner. We are waiting till about the 20th of June as that is when the bank pays salaries of staff and if we are not paid, then we will show that they cannot treat us anyhow,”Lawyer Neequaye added.
Briefing in court
During proceedings in court, lawyer Prince Fredrick Nii Ashie Neequaye told the court that the bank had not fully purged itself of the contempt, arguing that though the bank had recalled the affected staff, it had failed a request to explain and put in writing further instructions for the workers.
He added that his clients have not received their salaries from March to May 2016 after the letter of dismissal was withdrawn.
But the Presiding Judge, Justice Kwaku Arkaah – Boafo in his ruling said the request for further details on instructions and issues of salaries were not before him and could not rule on that as it was not within his jurisdiction to act on.
He, however urged the plaintiff’s lawyer to use another forum to deal with the matter.
Workers drag bank to court
Some workers of Standard Chartered Bank who were laid off early this year, dragged the bank to court over the severance packages being offered them.
The workers in their writ, argued that the said MOU signed on their behalf by UNICOF is fraudulent and did not have their requisite mandate and input.
They added that the deal would have made them lose about half of their entitlements due them, following the number of years they have worked at the bank.
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By: Norvan Acquah – Hayford/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana