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ELRCOtherCause No. 44 of 2002

KENYA UNION OF DOMESTIC, HOTELS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, HOSPITALS & ALLIED WORKERS v LIMURU NURSING HOME (Cause 44 of 2002) [2002] KEELRC 21 (KLR)

Industrial Court of Kenya
2 October 2002
CCCharles P. Chemmuttut
395 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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A Kenyan labour court allowed a union to withdraw its redundancy case by consent, while keeping the door open to file a fresh claim about underpayment.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Minister for Labour referred to the Industrial Court a dispute concerning the redundancy of Mrs. Gladys Wambui Njihia, under Section 8 of the Trade Disputes Act, Cap. 234, with statutory certificates from the Labour Commissioner and the Minister under Section 14(9)(e) and (f), received on 14th May 2002. The Union filed its memorandum on 23rd July 2002; the Nursing Home's reply was filed belatedly on 30th September 2002. When the matter came up for hearing on 2nd October 2002, counsel for both parties discussed in Chambers the maintainability or otherwise of the dispute and jointly agreed to a consent order in the terms: "The dispute herein is withdrawn and the Union will have the liberty to file a fresh dispute on underpayment if they so wish." The order was signed by Mr. Mwari S. Njiru for the Union and Dr. B.V. Patel for the Nursing Home, witnessed by Mrs. M. Onyango. Chemmuttut J thereupon marked the case as withdrawn and closed the file. No costs order was made. The judgment is a short consent withdrawal order; it makes no findings on the merits of the redundancy dispute and establishes no proposition of law. The Union retained liberty to institute a fresh dispute concerning underpayment.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether the dispute concerning the redundancy of Mrs. Gladys Wambui Njihia should proceed to determination, in light of the parties' agreed withdrawal

Key legal issues

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01

Maintainability of the dispute

Holding

The parties, after discussing maintainability in Chambers, jointly agreed to withdraw the dispute, and the Court recorded the consent withdrawal

Reasoning

The Minister for Labour had referred the dispute under Section 8 of the Trade Disputes Act. At the hearing, counsel discussed the maintainability or otherwise of the dispute in Chambers and agreed on a consent order of withdrawal, reserving the Union's liberty to file a fresh dispute on underpayment. The order was signed by both parties' representatives and the Court marked the case withdrawn and closed the file.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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    Court orders

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    1. 1."The dispute herein is withdrawn and the Union will have the liberty to file a fresh dispute on underpayment if they so wish"
    2. 2.The case was marked as withdrawn and the file closed

    The bench

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    One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

    CC
    majority

    Wrote the judgment

    Jurisdiction invoked
    Section 8 of the Trade Disputes Act, Cap. 234, Laws of Kenya - reference by the Minister for Labour

    Relief refused

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    Determination of the dispute over the redundancy of Mrs. Gladys Wambui Njihia

    The parties jointly agreed and prayed that the dispute be withdrawn, with liberty to file a fresh dispute on underpayment

    p. 2

    Costs

    No costs order made

    Quotable passages

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    Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

    "The dispute herein is withdrawn and the Union will have the liberty to file a fresh dispute on underpayment if they so wish"
    p. 2consent withdrawal order
    This being the position, I mark this case as withdrawn and close the file.
    p. 2final orders/disposition

    Key timeline

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    Practical implications

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    Frequently asked questions

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    Cite this brief

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    Cite this brief

    Caselaw, "KENYA UNION OF DOMESTIC, HOTELS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, HOSPITALS & ALLIED WORKERS v LIMURU NURSING HOME (Cause 44 of 2002) [2002] KEELRC 21 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2002). Cause No. 44 of 2002. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2002/21/eng@2002-10-02

    Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.