By William Madouk
UAP Insurance is facing a potentially strong legal challenge from former employees who were dismissed.
In October last year, the company terminated the contracts of at least ten national staff members after they advocated for improved wages. This decision contradicts a directive from the Ministry of Labor, which called for the reinstatement of the employees involved in the dispute.
In response to the firings, the National Staff Association (UNSA) has initiated legal proceedings against UAP Insurance.
According to a summons seen by this outlet, the Juba High Court has ordered UAP management to appear for a hearing scheduled for September 18 at 9:00 AM.
“Defendant UAP Insurance South Sudan Ltd to the office of the Bailiff clerk you are delegated to notify the defendant to appear before me on date 18 September, 20254 time 9:00 AM…Labor case,” said Judge Francis Amum in the Summon.
In 2023, UAP and its national employees have been at loggerheads over unfair treatment and the same job with different wages for nationals compared to their foreign expatriate colleagues.
That forced about 70 national staff to stage a sit-in strike, bringing the UAP business to a standstill.
Luka Nyarsuk Nason, Chairman of the Labor Advisory Council, in a letter dated September 29, 2023, directed the UAP management to also put on hold all administrative measures taken against staff.
In October, the Ministry of Labor delivered a long-awaited verdict against the pitting brawl between the UAP insurance management and national staff over unfair treatment and salary structure.
Mary Hillary Wani, the undersecretary in the Ministry of Labor on the resolution of the dispute over UAP national staff grievances, directed the UAP firm to instantly reinstate 10 national employees who were axed.
The Labor Ministry further instructed UAP management to review the salary structure and to give the human resources office to a South Sudanese national.
“The national human resource official is to be trained and given full responsibility for human resource work,” Mrs. Mary noted.
According to the labour docket, positions for UAP staff who are physically working in Kenya will be advertised and nationalized.
However, No.1 Citizen establishes that none of the Ministry of Labor’s verdicts had been implemented by the UAP company by the press time.