Three former Press Corporation Limited (PCL) top executives have filed a K33 billion compensation for unfair dismissal and unlawful labour practices by the conglomerate.
The three are former company secretary Bernard Ndau as first claimant, former group financial controller Elizabeth Mafeni as second applicant and former group chief executive officer George Partridge as third applicant.
In submissions their lawyer John Suzi Banda filed in the Industrial Relations Court (IRC), the trio stated: “We humbly pray that the applicants be granted the following; for first applicant K6 326 535 667, for second applicant K19 459 545 347 and for third applicant K7 479 922 192.”
Court documents show that upon her dismissal in December 2021, Mafeni received K481 million, Partridge took home K452 million and Ndau was paid K179 million as terminal dues.
During assessment proceedings yesterday presided over by IRC deputy chairperson Tamanda Nyimba, PCL lawyer Patrick Mpaka asked Partridge and Mafeni, who were present in court, why they felt they deserved the claimed compensation having already been paid by their former employer.
In an interview after adjournment, Mpaka said Partridge and Mafeni had given the clarification they wanted, as such they would not cross-examine Ndau, a lawyer by who was not present in court.
Suzi Banda, in a separate interview, said that the respective compensations that the applicants are claiming have taken into consideration their remuneration and length of service as well as the inflation rate between December 2021 and December 2024.
Meanwhile, Nyimba has adjourned the case to January 10 2025 when Suzi Banda will re-examine his clients.
The three applicants dragged PCL to court after they were
dismissed in December 2021 following a functional review initiated by the PCL board and conducted by a consultant.
In his ruling on October 22 2024, Nyimba found that while consultations were supposed to be done during the functional review, the applicants were not consulted and were not offered options for lower salaries or redeployment to lower positions.
PCL is the largest conglomerate in Malawi and has interests in banking, telecommunications, energy, real estate and hospitality.
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