|
Dashen Bank is holding the execution of a court
ruling, reinstating an employee who had been
suspended in relation to the formation of the labour
union.
When some employees received a license for what was
to be the first labour union of the bank’s employees
and started recruiting members, some of the founders
found themselves suspended from work and others
transferred to remote branches. The actions were not
related to the formation of the union, the bank said
at the time. But shortly afterwards the management
called more than 1,000 of its employees to a meeting
to help form a union, which it said would respond
more to the needs and preferences of the employees.
In the end two employees were transferred to remote
sites and three suspended from work, all of whom
have filed suits against the bank. One of these,
Zenebe Dinkesa, a member of the security personnel,
was first transferred to the Bedele Branch.
He then got in trouble for comments given to an
Amharic newspaper, Ethio Chanel, allegedly relating
his transfer to his involvement with the labour
union. He was then suspended as of January 23, 2010,
and subsequently fired as of the same date for
refusing to explain his comments to the bank.
He took his case to the Federal First Instance
Court, Kera Bench, which ruled on February 3 that
the bank’s action had little legal backing and that
the employee had to be reinstated. A month later,
the employee is still waiting for the ruling to be
executed.
The management also did not respond to his letter
asking to be allowed to go back to his job, Zenebe
said. He and Kabtimer Kebede, president of the
Banking and Insurance Federation, talked to the
management, and they got the response that the bank
would appeal to get the ruling reversed.
A month later, the management is yet to file its
appeal. Fortune was not able to get the bank’s
comment on the issue before going to print.
Fortune would have to submit its questions in
writing for the management to deliberate on before
an official comment was issued, according to Lemesa
Wordofa, speaking for the bank’s public relations
office in the absence of Mechal Bedada, who heads
the department.
|
