AWARD

This ministerial reference concerns the alleged dismissal of Zulhafiz Bin Abdullah (the 1^st claimant) and Norasiha Mohd Taib (the 2^nd claimant) by Exel Global Logistics/DHL Logistics (the respondent) on 14 September 2006.

The 1^st and 2^nd claimants joined the respondent on 12 October 1984 and 1 January 1983 respectively when it was then known as McGregor Sea and Air Services (M) Sdn Bhd. They were promoted several times and at the material time the 1^st claimant held the position of Manager in the Sea Freight Department while the 2^nd claimant held the position of Admin, Purchasing and Quality Manager. The company is in the freight shipping, forwarding and transport business and is one of several entities in a group, for convenience referred to herein as the DPWN Group. A merger and incidental corporate reorganisation took place in early 2006 entailing considerable rationalisation and integration. New positions were offered to the employees and as far as the Court can ascertain, most employees accepted and settled into their new positions without any major unresolved issue, with a few exceptions. The claimants were two such exceptions. They sought various assurances from the respo