Wakilii

Kamuhanda v National Bank of Commerce (Labour Dispute Claim 3 of 2019)

Industrial Court · [2021] UGIC 34 · 2021 Preliminary Objection Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ruling on preliminary objection to jurisdiction in labour dispute claim originally filed in High Court and subsequently referred to Industrial Court
Decision
Preliminary objection dismissed; matter to proceed to hearing on the merits

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Industrial Court held that a suit originally filed in the High Court before the Industrial Court became operational cannot be rendered incompetent or void merely because it was not first lodged with a Labour Officer. The High Court has unlimited original jurisdiction and may properly refer labour matters to the Industrial Court under the Judicature Act and section 8 of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act. The preliminary objection was overruled.

Outcome

Preliminary objection dismissed; matter to proceed to hearing on the merits

Facts

The claimant filed civil suit No. 12/2007 in the High Court at Mbarara in January 2007, one year after the Employment Act was promulgated and seven years before the Industrial Court became operational. The suit underwent several transfers to different High Court circuits and was eventually registered as civil suit 582/2017 in the Civil Division. In October 2018, the High Court Registrar referred the file to the Industrial Court by letter stating that jurisdiction fell to the Industrial Court. The matter was registered as Labour Dispute Ref. 003/2019. In March 2021, the respondent filed a preliminary objection arguing that the suit was improperly before the Industrial Court because it had not been referred by a Labour Officer under the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act 2006, and that the claim was time-barred under section 71(2) of the Employment Act.

Issues

  1. Whether the suit is improperly filed before the Industrial Court and barred in law for not being a reference under Rule 3(1) and (2) of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) (Industrial Court Procedure) Rules.
  2. Whether the claimant should have filed a complaint before the Labour Officer who would have referred the matter to the Industrial Court under Section 8 of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act 2006.
  3. Whether the claim is barred by limitation under section 71(2) of the Employment Act, having been lodged in 2019 when the cause of action arose in 2006.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection overruled.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Jurisdiction — Industrial Court — Reference from High Court
The High Court has unlimited original jurisdiction and a suit filed in the High Court cannot be rendered incompetent or void on the ground that another court or tribunal has jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
Employment & Labour — Jurisdiction — Industrial Court — Operationalisation and References
Where a labour dispute suit was filed in the High Court before the Industrial Court became operational, the claimant was justified in filing in the High Court and the subsequent reference by the High Court to the Industrial Court under the Judicature Act is valid and in line with section 8 of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act.
Administrative Law — Jurisdiction — Concurrent Jurisdiction — High Court and Specialised Tribunals
The fact that the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act 2006 provides that a complaint ought to be lodged with a Labour Officer first does not oust the unlimited original jurisdiction of the High Court to entertain a labour dispute.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (2)

  • Uganda Telecommunications Employees Union & 95 Others v Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) and NSSF (Miscellaneous Application No. 84 of 2015)
  • Misc. Cause 77/2015

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Kamuhanda_v_National_Bank_of_Commerce_(Labour_Dispute_Claim_3_of_2019)_[2021]_UGIC_34_(14_May_2021)
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.