The industrial court has ruled that the dismissal of Betsy Mugamba, the former chief operations officer of Sanyu FM in 2020 was lawful and justified.
This bring to an end a five-year legal battle that arose from the 2020 staff strike over Covid-19 pay cuts.
Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana, delivering judgment, said the radio station followed the law both procedurally and substantively in sacking Mugamba, who had served the company for 27 years.
Mugamba joined Sanyu FM in December 1993 as a marketing executive and rose to become Chief Operations Officer in 2005. During the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, the station, decided to cut salaries of staff by 25% to stay afloat since rvenues had declined.
June 5 2020, 27 employees led by Mugamb, rejected the pay cut and stopped working. The station later accused her of inciting and participating in an unlawful strike, which disrupted broadcasts and hurt the brand.
On August 19, 2020, Mugamba was suspended, and after three disciplinary hearings in August and September, she was summarily dismissed on September 25, 2020.
She sued the station, claiming unfair and unlawful termination and seeking more than Shs 792 million in damages for lost income and emotional distress.