Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE High Court’s Labour Division, Kigoma District Registry, has confirmed the dismissal from employment of two former Tanzania Electric Supply Limited (Tanesco) drivers, who were terminated from public service for possessing low qualifications, as they were standard seven leavers.
Judge Athumani Matuma ruled against the two ex-Tanesco employees, Nditeze Wilson and Julius Magunwa, the applicants, after dismissing their application for revision against decision of the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA), which decided in favour of Tanesco, the respondent.
“I thus agree and affirm the decision of CMA that the termination was lawful because the contracts of employment were void ab-initio (having no legal effect from the beginning) or having contravened the Public Service law,” the judge ruled.
He also agreed with the trial commission that since the applicants were duly paid their terminal benefits, they deserve nothing more. The judge pointed out that if at all they were still willing to work with the respondent, applicants should undergo further studies to attain such needful qualification.
According to him, the respondent had been consistently maintaining her intention to re-employ the applicants whenever they acquired the qualification. He concluded, therefore, that the application lodged by the applicants was devoid of any merits and it deserved to be dismissed accordingly.
Judge Matuma noted that it was undisputed that the applicants do not possess the minimum education of form four and it is established that since 1998 all government employees were required to hold at least the minimum education of form four.
In fact, he further observed, the respondent employed the applicants just as a favour to them because they had worked with her for a long time as casual laborers and she had, however, intent that in the due course they would undergo further studies to attain such minimum qualification.
The judge agreed with the respondent’s counsel that they attempted several times to cause the applicants to undergo further studies but they neglected the offer, thus, could not force them to continue with the employment without having the minimum qualification in public service.
“As rightly argued by the advocate for the respondent, the employment contracts between the parties were illegal ab-initio and were founded on sympathy basis because the applicants had worked for a long time as casual laborers but did not qualify to the minimum conditions for the employment,” he said.
The applicants were employees of the respondent as drivers since way back in 2008. By the time of their employment they were standard seven leavers and had driving certificates as well as driving licenses.
They worked with the respondent up to April 25, 2018 when they were terminated for having not been qualifying in the Public Service for lack of the minimum education of form four as per the Management and Employment Policy in the public service of 1999 and the Public Service Act of 2002.
The applicants were aggrieved with the employer’s decision and thus lodged a labour dispute in the (CMA) at Kigoma. Having heard the parties, the Commission dismissed the complaint as the applicants were lawfully terminated. Such a decision aggrieved the applicants and decided to seek for revision.
