Former UEB employees, lawyers row over fees
Sep 23, 2010
A row has erupted between the former employees of the Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) and their lawyers; Bashasha and Company Advocates, over legal fees.
by Patrick Jaramogi
A row has erupted between the former employees of the Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) and their lawyers; Bashasha and Company Advocates, over legal fees.
Over 1,000 former employees sued the Government seeking over sh50b in retirement and terminal benefits. The court has already ruled that the Government pays the workers, but the amount is not yet clear.
However, before the money is paid, the employees are at loggerheads with their lawyers regarding the legal fees. The lawyers want 24% of the workers’ terminal benefits.
The workers, who talked to New Vision, described the amount as “outrageousâ€.
“We have suffered since Umeme took over from UEB. Our lawyers want to fleece us by taking a huge chunk of our benefits,†said one of the workers.
“We had agreed that we pay them 5% of the total sum, but they are demanding 24%, which is too high,†said Edward Twine, another worker.
He said they are willing to pay the lawyers, but the money they asked for is too high.
The workers also accused the lawyers of conducting a fresh verification exercise to ascertain the authenticity of the claimants.
“They ran an advert in the media calling the for former UEB workers for verification, lest they don’t get paid. This is wrong,†said one worker.
“It is the Government paying us.
Therefore, it should be the one to verify the workers, not the lawyers. Whose interests are they representing?†asked another female staff member.
Efforts to talk to Bashasha and Company Advocates were futile. They said they were “too busy†to comment.
The three workers’ representatives, Paul Nyamarere, John Walugo and Josephine Nakafeero, who were originally selected to negotiate with the Government on behalf of others, have also been accused of siding with the lawyers to “defraud†their colleagues.
Julius Kaheru, another worker, said their representatives were moving around the country conducting the verification exercise, which kicked off on September 18 and ended on September 21. It was held in the central, northern, eastern and western regions.
Nyamerere said those against the exercise do not want people to get their money. “We have waited for so long and the Government is ready to pay us,†he said.
The Government, Nyamerere said, was set to pay the workers in two months time, but senior officials in the finance ministry denied this.
“It is not true. We are talking of billions of shillings, which have to be budgeted for. That money was not done this financial year, so I don’t know where the money will come from,†one of the officials said.
Justice Twinomujuni of the Court of Appeal on August 31, 2009 ruled that the Attorney General should instruct the Auditor General to re-compute the sums due under the judgment.
A row has erupted between the former employees of the Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) and their lawyers; Bashasha and Company Advocates, over legal fees.
Over 1,000 former employees sued the Government seeking over sh50b in retirement and terminal benefits. The court has already ruled that the Government pays the workers, but the amount is not yet clear.
However, before the money is paid, the employees are at loggerheads with their lawyers regarding the legal fees. The lawyers want 24% of the workers’ terminal benefits.
The workers, who talked to New Vision, described the amount as “outrageousâ€.
“We have suffered since Umeme took over from UEB. Our lawyers want to fleece us by taking a huge chunk of our benefits,†said one of the workers.
“We had agreed that we pay them 5% of the total sum, but they are demanding 24%, which is too high,†said Edward Twine, another worker.
He said they are willing to pay the lawyers, but the money they asked for is too high.
The workers also accused the lawyers of conducting a fresh verification exercise to ascertain the authenticity of the claimants.
“They ran an advert in the media calling the for former UEB workers for verification, lest they don’t get paid. This is wrong,†said one worker.
“It is the Government paying us.
Therefore, it should be the one to verify the workers, not the lawyers. Whose interests are they representing?†asked another female staff member.
Efforts to talk to Bashasha and Company Advocates were futile. They said they were “too busy†to comment.
The three workers’ representatives, Paul Nyamarere, John Walugo and Josephine Nakafeero, who were originally selected to negotiate with the Government on behalf of others, have also been accused of siding with the lawyers to “defraud†their colleagues.
Julius Kaheru, another worker, said their representatives were moving around the country conducting the verification exercise, which kicked off on September 18 and ended on September 21. It was held in the central, northern, eastern and western regions.
Nyamerere said those against the exercise do not want people to get their money. “We have waited for so long and the Government is ready to pay us,†he said.
The Government, Nyamerere said, was set to pay the workers in two months time, but senior officials in the finance ministry denied this.
“It is not true. We are talking of billions of shillings, which have to be budgeted for. That money was not done this financial year, so I don’t know where the money will come from,†one of the officials said.
Justice Twinomujuni of the Court of Appeal on August 31, 2009 ruled that the Attorney General should instruct the Auditor General to re-compute the sums due under the judgment.