Sixty-one former employees of the Ministry of Public Works, Communications, Transport, and Meteorological Services have lost a $150,000 lawsuit concerning claims of unfair termination. The group had initiated the lawsuit in the Employment Relations Court in September 2023, seeking compensation for lost wages and other benefits calculated from their termination date to the present. The claim included unpaid retirement benefits each employee was entitled to receive, as well as three months of paid leave for those who had served for ten years.
Justice Usaia Ratuvili pointed out that the legal documents submitted by the plaintiffs were too vague and required significant revisions so that the ministry could adequately address the claims made by each individual. Ratuvili stated, “In its current form, the Writ and Statement of Claim is too general and discloses no reasonable cause of action against the defendants.”
As a result, the court has decided to dismiss the Writ and Statement of Claim because it fails to present a reasonable legal basis for each of the plaintiffs’ claims. The judge emphasized that allowing the case to proceed in its present state could lead to confusion for the defendants and unreasonable delays in the legal process.