UAP insurance court hearing postponed to next Thursday

JUBA – The first court hearing between UAP Insurance Company and dismissed national staff has been postponed to Thursday, September 26, by the Juba High Court.

The adjournment was announced on Wednesday after UAP’s defense lawyer requested more time to prepare a response to the labor case filed by former employees. Judge Francis Amum granted the extension.

“We proceeded with the case, but the defense lawyer for UAP stated they were not ready with their reply and requested additional days,” said Marko Reech, the lawyer representing the dismissed UAP employees.

“The court granted their request, and we will reconvene on September 26,” he said.

In October last year, UAP dismissed at least 10 national staff members who had called for better wages. The company’s decision went against an order from the Ministry of Labor, which called for the reinstatement of the fired employees.

This led the National Staff Association (UNSA) to file a legal case against UAP, with the initial hearing scheduled for Wednesday, but now delayed until next week.

UAP has been in conflict with its national employees over claims of unfair treatment, particularly regarding pay discrepancies between local and expatriate staff. The dispute escalated in 2023 when around 70 national employees staged a sit-in strike, bringing UAP’s operations to a halt.

In a letter dated September 29, 2023, Luka Nyarsuk Nason, Chairman of the Labor Advisory Council, urged UAP’s management to halt all administrative actions taken against the staff.

The Ministry of Labor also issued a verdict in October, directing UAP to reinstate the dismissed staff and revise its salary structure.

Mary Hillary Wani, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Labor, instructed UAP to reinstate the 10 fired national employees and assign human resource responsibilities to a South Sudanese national.

The Ministry also called for the nationalization of positions currently held by UAP staff based in Kenya.

As of the time of reporting, none of the Ministry of Labor’s directives had been implemented by UAP Insurance.