The Labour Division of the High Court has ordered the reinstatement of 26 employees of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) who were dismissed shortly after the appointment of its Director-General, Kamal-Deen Ali, and imposed a financial penalty of GH¢310,000 on the Authority.

The ruling, adopted as a consent judgment in Suit No. IL/0089/2025, followed legal action initiated by the affected staff, led by senior officer Ronald Enyan. The employees had argued that their termination was wrongful and failed to follow due process.

As part of the court-supervised settlement, the 26 workers are to be reinstated to the exact positions and ranks they held before their dismissal. The Authority is prohibited from demoting them, and any interviews conducted as part of their return must be purely administrative and cannot be used to deny their reinstatement.

Their reinstatement will take effect from February 1, 2026, upon completion of onboarding procedures.

In addition to restoring their employment, the GMA is required to pay compensation to each of the affected staff and cover their legal costs, alongside the GH¢310,000 penalty imposed by the court.

The settlement also shields the reinstated employees from victimisation, including dismissal or layoff during any probationary period following their re-engagement.

Dr Ali, who assumed office on January 28, 2025, had terminated the appointments of 26 general staff and about eight directors soon after taking office.

The dismissals followed a February 10, 2025 directive from the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, instructing heads of public institutions to annul appointments and recruitments made after December 7, 2024.

However, several of the affected GMA employees insisted that they had been engaged well before the stated cut-off date, with some dating back to January 2024. At the time, some of the dismissed workers said their appointments were revoked without prior notice or the opportunity to be heard.

With a full trial looming, both parties opted for negotiations that ultimately led to the court-endorsed settlement.