The Industrial Relations Court (IRC) has ordered Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) to immediately pay K12.5 billion to 3 282 former employees as part payment of a K25 billion initial compensation award.
The order made in Blantyre yesterday follows an application by Admarc, through its lawyers Patrice Nkhono and Francisco Chikabvumbwa, to put aside execution of the earlier order pending appeal of the judgement which the same court made on November 15 2024.
In that order, Admarc was asked to pay K25 billion compensation comprising K7 billion as compensation for unfair dismissal and K18 billion for unfair labour practices.
But delivering the ruling yesterday, IRC deputy chairperson Tamanda Nyimba granted Admarc its prayer for a stay on condition that it should immediately pay 50 percent of the total compensation assessment awarded to the former employees.
Reads the ruling in part: “It is tolerably plain that what the respondent is actually attempting to do is to disingenuously mask its financial ruin by desperately alleging that the applicants are the ones without means.”
In its application, Admarc indicated that it was still in a financial crisis and that it would be difficult to immediately pay the said compensation within the 10 days which the court earlier ordered.
The corporation said that as of November, it had K2 billion in its coffers and if operating expenses were factored in it would remain with about K427 million.
But in their response opposing Admarc’s submission, the former employees through their lawyer Shepher Mumba argued that Admarc is a limited company with its own assets and can satisfy the judgement debt.
