Banking Insurance Association Workers Union and Another v Mutual & Fedaral Insurance Company Limited (J3914/00) [2002] ZALC 12; (2002) 23 ILJ 1037 (LC); [2002] 7 BLLR 609 (LC) (11 February 2002)

Banking Insurance Association Workers Union and Another v Mutual & Fedaral Insurance Company Limited (J3914/00) [2002] ZALC 12; (2002) 23 ILJ 1037 (LC); [2002] 7 BLLR 609 (LC) (11 February 2002)

The court found that the second applicant knowingly made false submissions to the commissioner at the arbitration, amounting to serious misconduct. The evidence did not support his claim that postponements were requested and refused at the disciplinary hearing. The court rejected the argument that the respondent was obliged to notify the union, as the union was not recognised and there was no established practice of consultation. The dismissal was held to be both substantively and procedurally fair. The application was dismissed, and costs were awarded against the applicants jointly and severally.

Citation
[2002] ZALC 12
Parties
Applicant: Banking Insurance Association Workers Union; Applicant: M. Nhlapo; Respondent: Mutual & Federal Insurance Co. Ltd
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
11 February 2002
Case Number
J3914/00
Procedural Posture
Urgent Application / Judgment
Outcome
Application dismissed with costs.
Judges
Waglay
Legal Topics
Automatically Unfair Dismissal, Procedural Fairness, Trade Union Rights, Misconduct, Shop Steward Protection
Labour Law Automatically Unfair Dismissal Procedural Fairness Trade Union Rights Misconduct Shop Steward Protection

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Banking Insurance Association Workers Union

Applicant

M. Nhlapo

Applicant

Mutual & Federal Insurance Co. Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Urgent Application / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the dismissal of the second applicant was automatically unfair due to victimisation for exercising union representation rights.
  2. 2 Whether the dismissal was procedurally unfair for failure to notify or consult the union as required for shop stewards.
  3. 3 Whether the second applicant's conduct constituted misconduct justifying dismissal.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the second applicant knowingly made false submissions to the commissioner at the arbitration, amounting to serious misconduct. The evidence did not support his claim that postponements were requested and refused at the disciplinary hearing. The court rejected the argument that the respondent was obliged to notify the union, as the union was not recognised and there was no established practice of consultation. The dismissal was held to be both substantively and procedurally fair. The application was dismissed, and costs were awarded against the applicants jointly and severally.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • The application is dismissed with costs.
  • Costs are to be paid by the applicants, jointly and severally, the one paying for the other to be absolved.