UNICOF General Secretary reinstated…cleared of all allegations by NLC

Embattled General Secretary of the Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance Workers (UNICOF), John Esiape, has been cleared of all the allegations levelled against him by the union which led to him being dismissed.

According to the National Labour Commission (NLC), the purported suspension and dismissal of John Esiape was null and void, quoting the case of NARTEY-TOKOLI and others Vrs Volta Aluminum Co. Ltd. (1989-90) 2 GLR 341, in which the Supreme Court of Ghana held that where the procedural requirements were not complied with, the resultant conclusions are null and void.

UNICOF has therefore been directed to pay to the Complainant (John Esiape) all his salaries, allowances, and entitlement as spelt out in the Conditions and Service for the General Secretary, from the date of his purported suspension and subsequent dismissal, to the end of his tenure of office with interest at current commercial bank lending rates.

In a letter dated June 2, 2017, and signed by the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission (NLC), Charles Adongo Bawaduah (Esq), UNICOF was informed of the decision of the commission “In a matter of the unfair dismissal” of the John Esiape.

The NLC in its letter directed that: “PLEASE TAKE NOTE that you are to comply with the decision forthwith except where the decision directs otherwise.”

First, according to page 9 of the ruling, which is also signed by the chairman of the NLC, Edward Briku-Boadu: “The National Chairman of UNICOF, Alex Nyarko, lied under oath when he swore that the Management Committee of UNICOF which appointed a Complaints Committee, in accordance with Article 21 of the UNICOF Constitution and the Complaints Committee, appointed a Panel.”

“The Commission subsequently finds that the management committee chaired by the National Chairman acted unconstitutionally in nominating the five-member Panel to determine the ‘’complaint’’ purportedly made against the Complainant,” the document stated.

The commission, in the light of the evidence before it, found that the respondent did not comply with the Grievance Procedure under ARTICLE 14, and other provisions of the Constitution of UNICOF and that, its National Chairman did not act in accordance with the principles of natural justice.

The ruling, which has been sighted by the B&FT, further stated that even though, “the commission should have ordered the re-instatement of the complainant with all his entitlements paid to him, in view of the fact that the tenure of office of the Complainant has almost ended, the Commission orders that his entitlement and compensation be paid as follows:

• That all leave days should be commuted to cash and paid to the Complainant.
• That the Complainant’s exit package shall be paid to him
• Compensation of six months’ salary shall be paid to the Complainant for the wrongful dismissal”Case BackgroundThe former General Secretary of the Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance Workers (UNICOF), John Esiape, was suspended a year ago by the Management Committee of the Union which was chaired by the Chairman, Alex Nyarko.The document further stated that: “the Management Committee of UNICOF, after a meeting, has resolved that until the work of an investigative panel is concluded, we are by this letter suspending you as the General Secretary with effect from 13th May, 2016.”John Esiape was also accused of taking a $35,000 bribe from ADB during brouhaha surrounding the bank’s Initial Public Offer, and his management style was also called into question.DismissalPortions of the document which has been seen by the B&FT read: “We hereby accept that we misdirected ourselves and changed the complainant’s interdiction to suspension.”Meanwhile, in a sharp U-turn, the union wrote another letter dated July 26, 2016, addressed to John Esiape and again signed by the Chairman of UNICOF, Alex Nyarko-Opoku, stating that the National Executive Council (NEC) had expelled John Esiape as the General Secretary due to gross misconduct.The Union further stated that: “the decision of NEC was based on a report of the panel of investigators that was constituted to determine the complaint lodged against you by the staff of the union.”
• According to the document, John Esiape’s dismissal was effective 16th July, 2016, a day after the union had admitted to have wrongfully suspended him.
• The letter stated that “the NEC, at a meeting held on 16th July, 2016, dismissed you as General Secretary and expelled you from the National Union by majority vote of 87% to 13% for gross misconduct arising from dishonesty, acting against the interest of the union and bringing the name of the union into disrepute.”
• It added, “We shall therefore take the necessary steps to reverse the suspension to interdiction.”
• While UNICOF, in an earlier letter dated July 15, 2016, addressed to the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission (NLC) stated that the Management Committee of UNICOF erred by suspending the General Secretary John Esiape, it still went ahead and dismissed John Esiape.
• The embattled former General Secretary proceeded to the National Labour Commission to seek redress on the suspension and allegations levelled against him.
• Sources say John Esiape’s suspension follows the alteration of a document by UNICOF’s accountant who, during investigations, revealed he was given the go ahead to make the amendments by the General Secretary.
• In a letter dated May 13, 2016 and signed by its Chairman Alex Nyarko-Opoku, the union stated that John Esiape was suspended until investigation over alleged malfeasance was completed, and directed John Esiape to return all assets of UNICOF in his possession by close of work on Tuesday, May 14,2016.
• Suspension
• The commission further stated that “by this decision, the matter involving ISAAC BONDORIN and UNICOF which bordered on the same subject matter was considered to this dispute has been effectively dealt with and disposed.

Source: Business and Financial Times Ghana