One day after Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) sacked over 132 dockworkers over fake academic certificates, the Dock Workers union DWU has moved to Court of Appeal to block the directive.
KPA on Wednesday started issuing summary dismissal letters to 132 KPA staff members among them 25 managers who were caught up in the alleged cheating scandal and ordered them to vacate office and company quarters in seven days.
DWU Secretary General Simon Sang confirmed that the workers had received sacking letters duly signed by KPA management. He opposed the move saying the union has hired a legal officer to lead on their appeal at the industrial court.
He said the workers have been given seven days to vacate the KPA quarters but through the appeal the workers may be allowed to stay longer as the court determines their fate.
“Not all of them who were listed have received letters. There are some who are yet to receive them. KPA has given them seven days to vacate but we have decided to move to court to block the decision,” Sang said on Friday in an interview in Mombasa.
If the appeal fails, the workers among others who are yet to be investigated by the Ethics and Anticorruption commission will face prosecution for “cheating”.
The workers have been locked in a legal tussle with the authority. The industrial court recently dismissed a plea by the Dock Workers Union to have the affected workers pardoned and internally disciplined. Instead the court ordered for their sacking.
The workers had filed an application to have their jobs retained but the industrial court through Judge James Rika dismissed their plea.
The move comes few months after a public notice by the KPA management placed on the local dailies that advertised several job posts that attracted thousands of applicants.