Loeto v South African Police Service and Others (JR 1996/2017) [2021] ZALCJHB 242 (16 August 2021)
The court found that the application for leave to appeal merely repeated arguments already considered and rejected in the judgment dismissing the review application. The applicant failed to demonstrate any reasonable prospect that another court would reach a different conclusion. The court emphasized the limited...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2021] ZALCJHB 242
- Parties
- Applicant: Onkaetse Buffalo Loeto; Respondent: South African Police Service; Respondent: Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council; Respondent: Prince Kekana N.O
- Court
- Labour Court Johannesburg
- Jurisdiction
- South Africa
- Case Number
- JR 1996/2017
- Procedural Posture
- Leave to Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Following Dismissal of Review Application
- Outcome
- Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
- Judges
- Van Niekerk
- Legal Topics
- Review of Arbitration Award, Unfair Dismissal, Leave to Appeal, Prospects of Success
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Onkaetse Buffalo Loeto
Applicant
South African Police Service
Respondent
Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council
Respondent
Prince Kekana N.O
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Leave to Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Following Dismissal of Review Application
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the applicant has demonstrated reasonable prospects of success on appeal against the dismissal of the review application.
- 2 Whether the court erred in upholding the arbitration award which confirmed the applicant's dismissal.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the application for leave to appeal merely repeated arguments already considered and rejected in the judgment dismissing the review application. The applicant failed to demonstrate any reasonable prospect that another court would reach a different conclusion. The court emphasized the limited grounds on which it may interfere with arbitration awards and concluded that none were present in this case. Accordingly, leave to appeal was refused.
Court Disposition
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
Orders
- The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
22 paragraphs
THE LABOUR COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(HELD AT JOHANNESBURG)
Not reportable
Case No: JR 1996/2017
In the matter between:
ONKAETSE BUFFALO LOETO Applicant
and
SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE First Respondent
SAFETY AND SECURITY SECTORAL
BARGAINING COUNCIL Second Respondent
PRINCE KEKANA N.O Third Respondent
Date of hearing: 26 May 2021
Date of judgment: 16 August 2021. Judgment delivered by email
RULING: APPLICANTION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL
VAN NIEKERK J
[1] This is an application for leave to appeal against the whole of the judgment delivered by this court on 26 May 2021, when the court dismissed an application to review and set aside an arbitration award issued by the third respondent. In his award, the third respondent had upheld the applicant’s dismissal. The arbitration award turned ultimately on the third respondent’s rejection of the applicant’s evidence that he had not been party to an attempt to extort money from an incoming passenger at the Oliver Tambo International Airport. The third respondent preferred the evidence of the first respondent’s witnesses, on a basis for which he supplied full reasons.
[2] I do not intend to traverse the factual issues that are the subject of the award; all of these are canvassed in the judgment. There is nothing in the submissions advanced on the applicant’s behalf that is not addressed in the judgment – the application for leave to appeal is a rehash of the submissions made during the review hearing.
[3] In my view, there is no basis on which it can be said that the appeal would have a reasonable prospect of success. This is particularly so given the narrow basis on which this court is empowered to interfere with arbitration awards by way of review.
I make the following order:
1. The application is dismissed.
Andre van Niekerk
Judge of the Labour Court of South Africa.