THE Arbitration Court has ordered Energy Fiji Ltd pay $25,000 to a worker it fired in March 2013.
Vidya Sagar was charged by EFL for careless driving after a Hino truck driven by him got submerged in the sea while he and several other EFL staff were fixing a pole.
“Vidya Sagar was sent to battle. He gathered his troops and whatever equipment he was provided. He approached the enemy. As he approached the enemy he stepped on a land mine. The firing started. He took a bullet. Some of his comrades stood by and watched things play before their eyes,” states the Arbitration Court in its July 23 ruling.
“Upon return from battle, Vidya’s wounds were not attended to. He was inflicted further injuries. He was terminated. This is Vidya Sagar’s story.”
“The employer (EFL) had proper resources and ammunitions. They were kept at the camp/barracks. Vidya Sagar was blamed for the bog down. He was made the scapegoat.”
“The message to employers is that when they send workers to battle it is their responsibility to equip them appropriately and adequately.”
“They should not blame workers and make them an example to others if they fail in their duties.”
The court said it accepted that Vidya Sagar drove the vehicle that got bogged in the sand that was subsequently damaged by sea water.
“Vidya Sagar was committed to his work. He tried to get to the pole to straighten it. He was not like Sunil Sharma (another EFL staff), who sat and looked on despite being asked to use the crane to pull the vehicle out.”
“The next day similar cranes were used to retrieve the vehicle and that too away from the designated tracks.”
“On the information before us we do not find that Vidya Sagar should have been terminated by EFL. This is the unanimous decision of the court.”
The matter has been before the court since 2016 and the hearing panel in Mr Sagar’s case was made up of Justice Chaitanya Lakshman, Attar Singh as workers’ rep and Noel Tofinga as employer’s rep.
