Musa Badjie, former room attendant at the Ocean Bay
Hotel, had filed a suit against his employer at the Industrial Tribunal in
Kanifing.
The plaintiff, Musa Badjie, is claiming among others, D380,769.25 against the hotel for wrongful dismissal of his services.
Testifying before Chairman Ngube of the tribunal, the plaintiff adduced that he was a room attendant, employed on 4 June 2004 at the Ocean Bay Hotel.
He served the hotel for seven good years, he said, adding that he never received a warning letter and had whole-heartedly served for the betterment of the hotel.
He adduced that he started his annual leave from 1 September to 7 October 2011, stating that during that period, a disciplinary action was taken against him.
Badjie noted that he reported to the Labour Department on 7 September 2011 to show them the punishment letter given to him for six months.
“I was demoted and never reinstated until I left,” the plaintiff told the tribunal.
He revealed that on 7 September 2011, he went to Lamin Bayo, (assistant executive housekeeper’s wife) to plead with her husband to reinstate him.
According to him, the following day, whilst at work, Bayo asked him to go to the manager to reinstate him, but the manager in turn asked him to go with Bayo and a supervisor to the human resource manager to release him back to his place.
“When we went there, the human resource secretary, Alice, asked them to wait to confirm with the HR,” said the witness.
He testified that on 10 October 2011, the secretary wrote him a letter, shifting the whole issue to one Kebba Trawally to write a report about him.
“Despite writing that report, the manager wrote a letter that I should continue my punishment,” the witness told the tribunal.
He said he went back to Lamin Bayo’s wife to inform her that her husband was the cause of his problem.
The plaintiff further adduced that Bayo reported to the police that he was threatening his wife.
“I went to the station with Bayo and he was asked to explain, after which I also explained what had happened,” he told the tribunal.
The plaintiff said that when the station officer asked Bayo if what they had explained was a threat they would proceed with the matter, Bayo then withdrew the matter.
He however indicated that he was called again at the police that the complainant insisted that investigation should go on.
The plaintiff told the tribunal that after both of them made their statements, the complainant withdrew the case again.
“After that, the manager wrote a special hearing notice,” the plaintiff told the tribunal.
The plaintiff testified that on 21 November 2011, at the meeting, he was asked to explain in the general manager’s office in the presence of the manager, Lamin Bayo, Alice and the defendant’s Lawyer and Garba Cham.
He further adduced that the next day the manager met with his representative in order to offer him to resign.
“They did not agree with the amount of D250,000 proposed to pay me,” he told the tribunal, adding that he was finally terminated.
He revealed that he asked them to pay him his two months’ salary and not his benefits.
“They paid my benefits to my account because they knew if they had givenme the cheque, I would not accept it,” he said, noting that he did not touch the money.
He finally said that prior to that, he wrote a letter to the manager asking him not to pay any of his benefits.
The case was adjourned till 30 July 2012.
