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CAVMONT BANK, EX-WORKERS CASE DRAGS ON

By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA

CAVMONT Bank Limited has argued that Access Bank Zambia cannot be joined to the matter where it has been sued by former employees who are demanding benefits, because the two are one bank by virtue of the certificate of amalgamation.

In an affidavit in opposition to an application for joinder, Esther Saka, a banker at Cavmont Bank admitted that the 41 were former employees of the bank but deny that there was any balance that was to be determined at trial if at all the matter was to be properly commenced and heard on the merit.

“I will aver that there are no two banks to warrant the joinder of party because the defendant and Access Bank are one institution and proceeding with the defendant is as good as proceeding with Access Bank by amalgamation. This application is unnecessarily and should not be granted,” she contended.

In this matter, 41 former middle management employees of Cavmont Bank sued their former employer for removing them from the payroll before paying them their full benefits.

They argued that the bank’s move was contrary to the current statutory law on payment of redundancy benefits.

The former employees want the Lusaka High Court to order that they have accrued the right to be paid the redundancy package under Clause N (I) of the applicable 2005 local management conditions of service which could not be unilaterally taken away from them.

They are also seeking a declaration that the bank’s imposition upon them of a redundancy package of two months’ pay for each year served under the new employment code, amounted to a unilateral variation of Clause N.(I) of the applicable management conditions of service and therefore, null and void.

The former employees want the court to declare that the bank was bound by the Minister of Labour’s directive under clause N.(i) of the applicable local management conditions of service of 2005.

They are also seeking an order for the payment of a redundancy package of three months’ pay for each year served with merged allowances less what they were paid.

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