AWARD

Augustine Anthony:

The Reference

[1] This is a reference dated 8 August 2022 by the Director General of the Department of Industrial Relations, Ministry of Human Resources pursuant to s 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 ("The Act") arising out of the alleged dismissal of ARUMUGAM A/L KALIAPPAN (Claimant) by SB GEOTECHNIC SDN BHD (Company) on the 23 December 2021.

[2] Pursuant to the directions of this Court, the parties in this matter filed their respective submissions dated 22 February 2024 (Company's written submissions), 17 March 2024 (Claimant's written submissions), 12 April 2024 (Company's written submissions in reply) and 12 April 2024 (Claimant's written submissions in reply).

[3] This Court considered all the notes of proceedings in this matter, documents and cause papers in handing down this Award namely:

(i) The Claimant's Statement of Case dated 26 September 2022;

(ii) The Company's Statement in Reply dated 28 October 2022;

(iii) The Claimant's Rejoinder dated 16 January 2023;

(iv) The Claimant's Bundles of Documents - CLB 1 & CLB 2;

(v) The Company's Bundle of Documents - COB;

(vi) The Claimant's Witness Statement - CLW - WS (1) & WS(2) (Mr Arumugam a/l Kaliappan