Judgement reserved in TransNamib case

THE High Court on Friday reserved judgement on whether the Office of the Registrar should have notified TransNamib’s lawyers in writing of when their labour case was set down.

Lawyers for the transport parastatal asked the High Court to postpone the labour case against former senior manager Bernhardt !Gaeb, stating that the Office of the Registrar had not notified them in writing and that they were thus not ready to resume with the case. TransNamib appealed sometime ago against a District Labour Court decision ordering the company to pay N$468 200 to !Gaeb.When the appeal was supposed to be heard in the High Court, there was no Judge available the first time while the company’s lawyers said there was a mix-up with their diary and they were not ready when the case was subsequently expected to resume.It was agreed that the appeal be heard last Friday.Procedurally TransNamib was supposed to file their heads of argument 10 days before Friday and !Gaeb’s lawyers were supposed to reply five days before the hearing.When TransNamib’s lawyers failed to file their heads of argument, Gaeb’s lawyer Geoffrey Dicks, acting on instruction of Jeff Tjitemisa, filled an application calling for the dismissal of the appeal.TransNamib then filed an appeal for the High Court to condone their lateness.On Friday Albert Strydom, acting on instruction of Shikongo Chambers, asked for a postponement of the case.Strydom denied repetition of failure to comply with the rules of the court.He told Acting Judge Annel Silungwe, sitting in his capacity as President of the Labour Court, that the Registrar’s Office was supposed to set down the procedural steps, including informing them in writing about Friday.Dicks, on the other hand, argued that they were all present when the Office of the Registrar set down the case for Friday.He accused TransNamib of employing delaying tactics so that his client (!Gaeb) would suffer financially and drop the case.Dicks said a costs order was granted earlier against TransNamib because it did not comply with court rules but, despite undertaking to pay the legal costs in that ruling, the company had not done so.”There comes a time when the non-compliance of rules cannot be accepted.The degree of non-compliance is growing.It is a repeated non-compliance,” he said.Strydom said Dicks’ seeking of the lapsing of time for TransNamib’s appeal had no authority.Apart from the N$468 200, TransNamib was ordered to keep !Gaeb on the company’s medical aid scheme for the next four years and to pay him full pension benefits.TransNamib appealed sometime ago against a District Labour Court decision ordering the company to pay N$468 200 to !Gaeb.When the appeal was supposed to be heard in the High Court, there was no Judge available the first time while the company’s lawyers said there was a mix-up with their diary and they were not ready when the case was subsequently expected to resume.It was agreed that the appeal be heard last Friday.Procedurally TransNamib was supposed to file their heads of argument 10 days before Friday and !Gaeb’s lawyers were supposed to reply five days before the hearing.When TransNamib’s lawyers failed to file their heads of argument, Gaeb’s lawyer Geoffrey Dicks, acting on instruction of Jeff Tjitemisa, filled an application calling for the dismissal of the appeal.TransNamib then filed an appeal for the High Court to condone their lateness.On Friday Albert Strydom, acting on instruction of Shikongo Chambers, asked for a postponement of the case.Strydom denied repetition of failure to comply with the rules of the court.He told Acting Judge Annel Silungwe, sitting in his capacity as President of the Labour Court, that the Registrar’s Office was supposed to set down the procedural steps, including informing them in writing about Friday.Dicks, on the other hand, argued that they were all present when the Office of the Registrar set down the case for Friday.He accused TransNamib of employing delaying tactics so that his client (!Gaeb) would suffer financially and drop the case.Dicks said a costs order was granted earlier against TransNamib because it did not comply with court rules but, despite undertaking to pay the legal costs in that ruling, the company had not done so.”There comes a time when the non-compliance of rules cannot be accepted.The degree of non-compliance is growing.It is a repeated non-compliance,” he said.Strydom said Dicks’ seeking of the lapsing of time for TransNamib’s appeal had no authority.Apart from the N$468 200, TransNamib was ordered to keep !Gaeb on the company’s medical aid scheme for the next four years and to pay him full pension benefits.