Court name
Industrial Relations Court
Case number
IRC Matter 18 of 2008

Masanjala v Illovo Sugar Ltd (IRC Matter 18 of 2008) [2007] MWIRC 90 (16 July 2007);

Law report citations
Media neutral citation
[2007] MWIRC 90
Coram
Null

IN THE
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COURT OF MALAWI




PRINCIPAL
REGISTRY




MATTER
NO. IRC 178 OF 2007




BETWEEN




MASANJALA………..……………………………………
……………...APPLICANT




-and-



ILLOVO SUGAR (MALAWI)
LTD…...……………..……………..RESPONDENT





CORAM: R. Zibelu
Banda, Chairperson

Chikwana;
Assistant Human Resources Manager for Respondent

Applicant; present

Andersen; Visiting Judge
from Denmark Labour Court (Observer)

Gowa; Official
Interpreter




RULING


Limitation period-Employment Act
2000-Claim for unfair dismissal-Section 62 Employment
Act-Dismissed-Statute barred.






Upon
hearing the applicant and upon hearing the respondent’s witness;
the Court found that the applicant had a dispute regarding
unfair
dismissal. The cause of action arose in May 2006. The applicant
lodged his complaint at the Labour Office on 8 December
2006. The
matter was referred to this court in 2007, almost a year after the
cause of action arose. The Court found this delay
too inordinate
under the circumstances and dismissed the action on the basis that it
was statute barred.




The
Employment Act in section 62 provides that disputes of unfair
dismissal must be lodged with the District Labour Officer for

conciliation, mediation and arbitration within 90 days of the
dispute. The unresolved matter must then be referred to this court

within 30 days by the Labour Officer. In this case the matter took
well over the limitation period and therefore it is dismissed
for
being statute barred.

Any party
aggrieved by this decision has the right of appeal to the High Court
within 30 days of this decision. Appeal lies only
on matters of law
and jurisdiction and not facts: Section 65 (2) of the Labour
Relations Act.






Pronounced
this 17th day of July 2007 at CHIKWAWA.











Rachel
Zibelu Banda.






CHAIRPERSON.