UB seeks out-of-court settlement with employees

GOTHATAONE MOENG
Staff Writer | Tuesday May 14, 2013 00:00

The parties appeared briefly before Chief Justice Maruping Dibotelo yesterday morning, but the case was adjourned to allow Doreen Khama, who represents the employees, to make her clients familiar with the settlement offer. The UB, through its representatives, Collins Newman and Company has proposed to pay each of the employees 50 percent of their claims and appoint them to the positions of Accounts Officers, with effect from end of June 2013.

The university has asked that the costs of the suit be taxed and that the employees withdraw their claims upon signature of the settlement agreement. The four employees are suing the university for back pay from April 2000, when a restructuring, re-grading and redeployment drive took effect.  The employees argue that even though they received correspondence informing them that they would be re-graded to the position of Accounts Officers, they were deployed to the lower position of Accounts Assistants. In addition, they argue that they were never paid according to a new payment structure implemented in 2000.

The restructuring drive, which affected all support staff at UB, was sanctioned by the university council in October 1999.  In March 2000, all support staff concerned received a letter from then Vice Chancellor Professor Sharon Siverts, which informed them of the implementation of the re-grading and redeployment exercise.  According to the correspondence, the exercise was supposed to take effect from April 3, 2000. The two parties are expected to meet tomorrow for further negotiations of the settlement.