By Chisomo Phiri
The Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Blantyre on Tuesday ruled in favor of three former top executives of Press Corporation Limited (PCL), ordering the company to compensate them for unfair dismissal and labor practices.
The three are former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) George Partridge, former company secretary Bernard Ndau, and former group financial controller Elizabeth Mafeni.
In a ruling, IRC deputy chairperson Tamanda Nyimba found that the PCL board had raised the applicants’ salaries just a few months before their retrenchment, yet they claimed that their salaries were too high.
In an interview, counsel for the applicants,John Suzi Banda, said the issue of compensation is secondary to the vindication of his clients, who have always felt they were unfairly treated by their employer.
“What is important is that they have been vindicated.The issue of compensation is secondary,” he said.
On the other hand, PCL lawyer Patrick Mpaka said they will review the court’s decision and decide on the next steps.
The three applicants took PCL to court after they were dismissed verbally on December 10, 2021, and received formal termination letters on January 7, 2022.
