Wakilii

Barclays Bank Of (u) Ltd v N.v.c.c.p Tech Employees (Misc.cause no.314 of 1997) (Misc.Cause No. 314 of 1997)

High Court · [1998] UGHC 14 · 1998 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking orders of certiorari and prohibition to quash an Industrial Court interpretative decision
Decision
Industrial Court's interpretative decision set aside and award quashed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that an Industrial Court award must be published in the gazette before it can be referred back for interpretation under s.11(1) of the Trade Disputes Act. An unpublished award cannot be interpreted. The Industrial Court acted ultra vires in interpreting an unpublished award. Further, the Court erred in making the award retrospective to 1 January 1993 when the dispute arose on 1 December 1993, as s.8(3) prohibits retrospective awards to dates earlier than when the dispute first arose. Orders of certiorari and prohibition granted, quashing the interpretative decision and prohibiting enforcement of the award.

Outcome

Industrial Court's interpretative decision set aside and award quashed

Facts

Barclays Bank and other member banks of the Association of Uganda Bankers entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the National Union of Clerical, Commercial, Professional and Technical Employees on 22 June 1994. A dispute arose regarding the interpretation of Appendix B concerning application of terms and conditions of service for the period 1 January to 31 December 1993. The Minister of Labour referred the dispute to the Industrial Court for interpretation of an award it had made on 18 April 1995, which had switched the effect of the award retrospectively to cover 1993. The Industrial Court gave its interpretation on 11 February 1997. Barclays Bank challenged this interpretation on multiple grounds, primarily that the award had never been published in the gazette as required by statute before being referred for interpretation, and that the Court erred in making the award retrospective to 1 January 1993 when the dispute arose on 1 December 1993.

Issues

  1. Whether the Industrial Court's interpretative decision was null and void and ultra vires the Act for failure to publish the award in the gazette before interpretation was sought.
  2. Whether the Industrial Court erred in making its award retrospective to 1 January 1993 when the dispute arose on 1 December 1993.
  3. Whether the Industrial Court erred in holding that no current agreement was in existence when the continuing clause of the collective agreement kept the previous agreement in force.
  4. Whether the Industrial Court's award applied only to employees working on the date negotiations commenced (1 December 1993) or to all employees working at any time during 1993.
  5. Whether employees who retired, were dismissed, or died before 1 December 1993 could benefit from the award.

Orders

  • Application granted.
  • Orders of certiorari and prohibition issued.
  • Industrial Court's interpretative decision of 11 February 1997 quashed.
  • Industrial Court prohibited from publishing the award in the gazette and from enforcing the award against the applicant.
  • Respondent to pay the costs of the application.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Industrial Court Awards — Publication in Gazette — Mandatory Requirement
Under the Trade Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) Act s.8(1) and s.11(1), publication of an Industrial Court award in the gazette is mandatory before the award can be referred back to the Court for interpretation. An application for interpretation must be made within 28 days from the time of publication. An unpublished award cannot be submitted for interpretation, and a court interpreting an unpublished award acts ultra vires.
Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Illegality — Non-Condonable Statutory Breaches
Non-publication of an Industrial Court award constitutes a penal offence under s.8A of the Trade Disputes Act. Courts cannot condone illegalities. Where a statute imposes a mandatory procedural requirement, failure to comply renders subsequent actions null and void.
Employment & Labour — Industrial Court Awards — Retrospective Effect — Statutory Limits
Under the Trade Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) Act s.8(3), an Industrial Court award may be made retrospective but not to a date earlier than the date on which the dispute to which the award relates first arose. An award made retrospective beyond this statutory limit is manifestly wrong and constitutes an error of law on the face of the record.
Employment & Labour — Collective Agreements — Continuation Clauses — Effect Pending New Agreement
Where a collective agreement contains a continuation clause providing that the existing agreement remains in force until new terms are negotiated and finalised, the previous agreement continues to govern the parties' rights and obligations up to the date when new terms enter into force.
Employment & Labour — Industrial Court Awards — Beneficiaries — Employees Who Left Service Before Award Takes Effect
An Industrial Court award applies only to employees who were in employment on the date the award takes effect. Employees who died, retired, were dismissed, or otherwise left service before the effective date of the award have no entitlement to benefits under that award.

Legislation cited (7)

  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) Act Cap. 200 s.8(1)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) Act Cap. 200 s.8(3)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) Act Cap. 200 s.8(4)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) Act Cap. 200 s.8A(1)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) Act Cap. 200 s.11(1)
  • Trades Disputes (Arbitration & Settlements) (Amendment) Decree 1974 No. 18
  • Civil Procedure Act s.101

Cases cited (2)

  • Prof. Syed Hug v The Islamic University in Uganda (Civil Appeal No. 47 of 1995)
  • Trade Dispute No. 4/91 (NIC -Vs- NUOCCP & TECHNICAL EMPL0Y.ES)

Full judgment

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Barclays Bank Of (u) Ltd v N.v.c.c.p Tech Employees (Misc.cause no.314 of 1997) (Misc.Cause No. 314 of 1997) [1998] UGHC 14 (10 July 1998)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.