Govt to bar civil servants from taking grievances directly to court

Ousted Public Service minister Nicholas Goche just before his dismissal last week advised government to create a law barring civil servants from taking their employer to court without exhausting internal remedies.

Goche said direct appeals to the Labour Court or High Court based on procedural issues were draining Treasury of significant amounts in litigation costs.

Members of the civil service must exhaust all the internal remedies before approaching the High Court on appeal, Goche wrote to the Attorney-General.

It has come to the attention of the commission that most members of the civil service no longer apply for review to the commission on their determination and penalty imposed by the disciplinary authorities and proceed straight to the Labour Court even on procedural issues that can be rectified on review.

The dismissed minister added: As a result government has been financially prejudiced because of litigation costs.

Goche was proposing the changes in the suggested amendments to the Public Service Act as the government works towards harmonizing labour laws.