The Labour Court has dismissed an application by 53 former employees of marble and granite company Best Cheer Investments Namibia, after finding the matter was not brought before court within the time required by law.
Court records show the workers received an arbitration award on 6 March 2024, dismissing their claim of unfair dismissal, and filed their application to review the award on 28 March 2024, within the required 30 days.
However, they only served the application on 17 April 2024 and on the arbitrator on 19 April 2024.
In a judgement delivered on 27 March this year, judge Boas Usiku said the law requires that a review application must be both filed and served within 30 days after the arbitration award is received.
“It is apparent that . . . delivery of the application on the parties directly affected thereby was not effected within the required 30-day period,” Usiku said.
He added that this failure means the workers did not comply with the law.
“A review application that is filed . . . outside the 30-day period is considered a nullity and is typically struck from the roll,” the judgement reads.
The court ruled that it does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter due to non-compliance with the Labour Act and court rules.
“The application is struck from the roll on account that it was brought outside the time-period contemplated in Section 89(4) of the Labour Act 11 of 2007, read with Rule 14(4) of the Labour Court Rules, and therefore this court lacks jurisdiction to hear it,” Usiku ordered.
The workers had asked the court to review and set aside an arbitration ruling issued on 1 March 2024, which dismissed their claim of unfair dismissal.
The judge also declined to order the workers to pay legal costs.
“I am not persuaded that the applicants have instituted the present proceedings frivolously or vexatious,” Usiku said.
The case goes back to 2021 when the workers were retrenched after a wage dispute at the Karibib-based company.
At the time, more than 150 workers went on strike after salary talks failed.
The workers demanded an increase from N$3 070 to N$4 270 per month, as well as housing and other allowances.
The company said it could not afford the increase.
The strike continued for weeks, and the company later issued retrenchment notices to some of the workers.
The workers then took the matter to the Office of the Labour Commissioner, claiming unfair dismissal.
The case was heard in 2023.
The workers attended, but the company did not appear.
The arbitrator proceeded with the hearing in its absence.
On 1 March 2024, the arbitrator eventually dismissed the workers’ claim.
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