Education Health And Allied Workers Union v Pressing Metal Indusrties (J211/97) [1998] ZALC 24 (11 June 1998)

Education Health And Allied Workers Union v Pressing Metal Indusrties (J211/97) [1998] ZALC 24 (11 June 1998)

The Labour Court's jurisdiction to adjudicate unfair dismissal claims is determined by the reason for dismissal as alleged by the employee in the statement of claim. In this case, the applicant alleged that its members were dismissed for refusing to work overtime, which constitutes a conduct-related dismissal. Section 191(5)(a)(i) of the Labour Relations Act requires such disputes to be referred to arbitration, and section 157(5) excludes the Labour Court's jurisdiction over them. Attempts by the applicant to amend the pleaded case at trial or to invoke the Court's inherent jurisdiction were rejected, as jurisdiction must be established on the pleadings. The Court found no basis to stay...

Citation
[1998] ZALC 24
Parties
Applicant: Education Health & Allied Workers Union; Respondent: Pressing Metal Industries
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
11 June 1998
Case Number
J211/97
Procedural Posture
Unfair Dismissal Application / Trial (jurisdictional Point)
Outcome
Application dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Judges
R M M Zondo
Legal Topics
Unfair Dismissal, Jurisdiction of Labour Court, Referral to Arbitration, Operational Requirements Dismissal
Labour Law Unfair Dismissal Jurisdiction of Labour Court Referral to Arbitration Operational Requirements Dismissal

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 1 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Education Health & Allied Workers Union

Applicant

Pressing Metal Industries

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Unfair Dismissal Application / Trial (jurisdictional Point)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Does the Labour Court have jurisdiction to adjudicate the unfair dismissal claim based on the reason alleged by the applicant?
  2. 2 Is the dispute required to be referred to arbitration or adjudication by the Labour Court under section 191(5) of the Labour Relations Act?
  3. 3 Can the applicant amend its pleaded case to allege an automatically unfair dismissal at trial?

Ratio Decidendi

The Labour Court's jurisdiction to adjudicate unfair dismissal claims is determined by the reason for dismissal as alleged by the employee in the statement of claim. In this case, the applicant alleged that its members were dismissed for refusing to work overtime, which constitutes a conduct-related dismissal. Section 191(5)(a)(i) of the Labour Relations Act requires such disputes to be referred to arbitration, and section 157(5) excludes the Labour Court's jurisdiction over them. Attempts by the applicant to amend the pleaded case at trial or to invoke the Court's inherent jurisdiction were rejected, as jurisdiction must be established on the pleadings. The Court found no basis to stay...

Court Disposition

Application dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

Orders

  • The applicant's referral of the unfair dismissal claim is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
  • There is no order as to costs.