Wakilii

Sempebwa & 20 Ors v Attorney General (Labour Dispute Claim 225 of 2014)

Industrial Court · [2020] UGIC 50 · 2020 Claim Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Labour dispute claim transferred from High Court Civil Division seeking terminal benefits following privatization of Uganda Government Printer
Decision
Claim allowed; respondent ordered to process pension and pay damages of UGX 15,000,000 per claimant plus 12% interest per annum

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that although rule 6 of the Government Proceedings (Civil Procedure) Rules contemplates an application for leave to proceed exparte against the Attorney General, failure to apply does not invalidate exparte proceedings where the court is satisfied the Attorney General was served but neglected to appear. Held further that when the Uganda Government Printer was privatized and became the Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation, the claimants' jobs were abolished and they were entitled to pension under section 10(1)(c) of the Pensions Act. The respondent's failure to process their pension constituted breach of contract.

Outcome

Claim allowed; respondent ordered to process pension and pay damages of UGX 15,000,000 per claimant plus 12% interest per annum

Facts

The claimants were employees of the Uganda Government Printer under permanent and pensionable terms. In July 1993, the Uganda Government Printer was privatized and became the Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC) under Cap. 330. The claimants were offered new contracts with UPPC requiring them to serve probationary periods before confirmation, without payment of terminal benefits under their previous service contracts. The claimants' original appointments were subject to the Constitution, Public Service Act, Service Standing Orders, and the Pensions Act Cap. 281. Communications from the Office of the President and the Managing Director of UPPC in 2017 confirmed the claimants' employment history and requested formal retirement processing. The respondent failed to process the claimants' pension entitlements. The claim was originally filed in the High Court Civil Division as Civil Suit No. 297/2013 on 26 September 2013 and transferred to the Industrial Court. The respondent filed a defence in the High Court but did not file a reply in the Industrial Court despite service, leading to exparte proceedings on 29 November 2019.

Issues

  1. Whether exparte proceedings could be taken against the Attorney General without formal leave of court by a formal application.
  2. Whether the claimants' employment with the Uganda Government Printer was terminated by virtue of the coming into force of the UPPC Act Cap. 330.
  3. Whether the claimants were entitled to pension under section 10(1)(c) of the Pensions Act following abolition of their jobs.
  4. Whether the respondent's failure to process the claimants' pension constituted breach of contract.

Orders

  • Claim allowed with costs to the claimants.
  • Respondent to pay each claimant UGX 15,000,000 in damages.
  • Respondent to pay 12% interest per annum from the date of the Award until payment in full.
  • Respondent to process the claimants' pension entitlements.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Exparte Proceedings — Government Proceedings (Civil Procedure) Rules — Leave of Court
Although rule 6 of the Government Proceedings (Civil Procedure) Rules contemplates an application by chamber summons for leave to proceed exparte against the Attorney General, failure to make such application does not invalidate exparte proceedings as long as the court is satisfied that the Attorney General was served but neglected or refused to appear in court to defend the matter.
Employment & Labour — Privatization — Abolition of Office — Entitlement to Pension
Where employees of a government entity are required to enter into new contracts with a privatized corporation following privatization, and those new contracts require them to serve probationary periods before confirmation, their previous jobs are deemed to have been abolished for purposes of pension entitlement under section 10(1)(c) of the Pensions Act.
Employment & Labour — Pension — Breach of Contract — Failure to Process
Where employees were employed subject to the Pensions Act and their jobs were abolished, failure by the government to process their pension entitlements constitutes breach of their respective contracts of service and entitles them to damages.
Administrative Law — Government Proceedings — Application of Civil Procedure Rules
Rule 3 of the Government Proceedings (Civil Procedure) Rules extends the application of the Civil Procedure Rules to proceedings involving government, and such proceedings are not exempt from the operation of Order 9 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (1)

  • Attorney General v Ejulu John (Civil Application No. 64 of 2012)

Full judgment

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

Sempebwa_&_20_Ors_v_Attorney_General_(Labour_Dispute_Claim_225_of_2014)_[2020]_UGIC_50_(29_April_2020)
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.