By: Eba Kandovazu

A staff member at Lady Pohamba private hospital in Windhoek scored a victory in the Windhoek High court, Labour division yesterday when the court upheld an order from the labour commissioner, reinstating her in her position as Ward Assistant.

Bertha Shoovaleka was taken to the high court by the hospital alongside the labour commissioner and Elizabeth Nkole, the arbitrator who adjudicated her labour dispute. The hospital wanted the High Court to set aside the Labour commissioner’s decision to reinstate Shoovaleka, who was dismissed after she allegedly went awol at work and presented a sick leave in which she was booked off after a car accident.

In the arbitrator’s award order, Shoovaleka was also to be compensated by the hospital. In their appeal, the hospital argued that insufficient evidence was bright before the arbitrator to justify the sanctions she imposed.

Judge Esi Schimming-Chase has since found that no evidence was presented to show that the relationship between Shoovaleka and the hospital had irretrievably broken down, thereby rendering an order reinstatement impossible.

Shoovaleka, who Salomon Kanyemba represented, will thus be back to work on 31 August 2022.

The judge, however, set aside the arbitrator’s order for compensation and instead ordered that the hospital pay Shoovaleka by salary and full benefits for a period of nine months and that no further payment should be made. Initially, the labour Commissioner had ordered that Shoovaleka be paid her full salary and benefits for 14 months.

The judge said that the arbitrator did not give reasons to justify why she made a compensation order for 14 months.

The hospital is said to have dismissed Shoovaleka after a disciplinary hearing. She started work at the hospital in June 2016 until January 2020, when she was dismissed for being absent from 2 January 2020 to 15 January 2020.

She reportedly submitted a sick leave certificate to HR on 17 January 2020, which booked her off from 2 January 2020 to 20 January 2020.

She was charged with misconduct for unauthorized absenteeism. The hospital maintained that Shoovaleka did not inform her supervisor of her whereabouts.