Wakilii

National Union of Clerical Commercial Professional and Technical Employees (Civil Appeal 42 of 99)

Court of Appeal · [2000] UGCA 35 · 2000 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from High Court decision granting certiorari and prohibition quashing an interpretative decision of the Industrial Court
Decision
Appeal allowed; decision of the Principal Judge set aside; the Industrial Court's interpretative decision restored, with the award covering all employees in the Bank's employment on 1 January 1993

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal held that the requirement under section 8(1) of the Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act to publish an award in the Gazette is directory rather than mandatory, and non-publication before an interpretative application is a mere procedural irregularity that did not render the Industrial Court's interpretative decision void or voidable. However, the effective date of an award is a matter of law regulated by statute, and the High Court correctly corrected the Industrial Court's error in fixing that date. The dispute arose before the suit was registered on 1 January 1993, so the award covered all employees employed on that date. The appeal was allowed.

Outcome

Appeal allowed; decision of the Principal Judge set aside; the Industrial Court's interpretative decision restored, with the award covering all employees in the Bank's employment on 1 January 1993

Facts

Barclays Bank of Uganda Ltd, a member of the Association of Uganda Bankers, was party to a collective agreement with the appellant Union under the Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act. Appendix B of the agreement, governing remunerative items, was revised annually. A dispute arose when the parties failed to revise Appendix B for the remunerative items effective from 1 January 1993. The Minister referred the matter to the Industrial Court, which registered it on 1 December 1993 and made an award on 18 April 1995. Disagreement over implementation led the Union to seek an interpretative decision, which the Industrial Court delivered on 11 February 1997, holding the effective date was 1 January 1993 and that the award covered all workers employed during 1993. The Bank obtained certiorari and prohibition from the Principal Judge, who quashed the interpretative decision as ultra vires because the award had not been published in the Gazette. The Union appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether the Industrial Court had jurisdiction to interpret an award that had not been published in the Gazette, and whether the publication requirement under section 8(1) is mandatory or directory.
  2. Whether the determination of the effective date of an Industrial Court award is a matter of law reviewable by certiorari for error on the face of the record.
  3. Whether the award applied only to employees still in the Bank's employment on 1 December 1993 or to those who were employed when the dispute arose.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Decision of the Principal Judge set aside.
  • Appellant awarded costs of the appeal and in the lower court.

Rules and key headnotes

Statutory Interpretation — Mandatory versus Directory Provisions — Consequences of Non-Compliance
Where a statute prescribes a procedural requirement without specifying the consequences of non-compliance, the court must assess the whole scope and purpose of the enactment, the importance of the provision and any prejudice caused, to determine whether the provision is mandatory or directory; breach is treated as a mere irregularity where the departure is trivial or causes no substantial prejudice.
Employment & Labour — Industrial Court Awards — Publication in the Gazette
The requirement under section 8(1) of the Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act to publish an award in the Gazette is directory rather than mandatory, so that failure to publish an award before an application for its interpretation is made is a procedural irregularity that does not render the Industrial Court's interpretative decision void or voidable.
Judicial Review — Certiorari — Error of Law on the Face of the Record
Certiorari is available to quash the decision of an inferior tribunal only where the error of law appears on the face of the record; the determination of an award's effective date, being regulated by statute, is a matter of law and an error in fixing it is correctable by the High Court on certiorari.
Employment & Labour — Retrospective Awards — Effective Date and Coverage
Under section 8(3) of the Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act an award may be made retrospective to a date not earlier than the date the dispute first arose; where the dispute concerns remunerative items effective from 1 January 1993, the award applies to all employees in employment on that date, regardless of the later date the suit was registered.

Legislation cited (8)

  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act (Cap 200) s.8(1)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act (Cap 200) s.8(3)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act (Cap 200) s.8(4)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act (Cap 200) s.8A(1)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act (Cap 200) s.11(1)
  • Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) (Amendment) Decree 1974 (Decree 18) s.8(1)
  • Judicature Statute 1996 s.38
  • Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Rules of Court) Rules S.I. 74-1 r.5(1)

Cases cited (5)

  • David B. Kayondo v The Co-operative Bank Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 10 of 1999)
  • Jaffer Brothers Ltd v Mohammed Najib Baagalaliwo and 2 Others (Civil Appeal No. 43 of 1997)
  • Edward Byaruhanga Katumba v Daniel Kiwalabye Musoke (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 1998)
  • Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Langridge [1991] 3 All ER 597
  • Rex v Northumberland Compensation Appeal Tribunal, Ex Parte Shaw [1952] 1 KB 338

Full judgment

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National Union of Clerical Commercial Professional and Technical Employees (Civil Appeal 42 of 99) [2000] UGCA 35 (31 March 2000)
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.