Lonmin Platinum Ltd v National Union of Mineworkers and Others (JA50/2015) [2017] ZALAC 18 (28 February 2017)

Lonmin Platinum Ltd v National Union of Mineworkers and Others (JA50/2015) [2017] ZALAC 18 (28 February 2017)

The Labour Court order did not finally dispose of the factual dispute regarding NUM's representativity as at the critical date. The consent order set out a resolutive condition requiring NUM to prove its majority status to Lonmin by a specified deadline. The subsequent dispute referred to the CCMA concerned whether...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2017] ZALAC 18
Parties
Appellant: Lonmin Platinum Ltd; Respondent: National Union of Mineworkers; Respondent: Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration; Respondent: Rob MacGregor N.O.
Court
Labour Appeal Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
28 February 2017
Case Number
JA 50/2015
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From Labour Court Judgment Reviewing and Setting Aside CCMA Ruling
Outcome
Appeal dismissed; Labour Court order confirmed.
Judges
Musi, Sutherland, Murphy
Legal Topics
Organisational Rights, Collective Agreement Interpretation, Representativity, Jurisdiction of Ccma, Res Judicata
Labour Law Civil Procedure Organisational Rights Collective Agreement Interpretation Representativity Jurisdiction of Ccma Res Judicata

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Lonmin Platinum Ltd

Appellant

National Union of Mineworkers

Respondent

Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration

Respondent

Rob MacGregor N.O.

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Labour Court Judgment Reviewing and Setting Aside CCMA Ruling

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the dispute referred to the CCMA was the same as that resolved by the Labour Court order.
  2. 2 Whether the CCMA commissioner erred in declining jurisdiction on the basis of res judicata.
  3. 3 Whether the factual question of NUM's representativity was finally disposed of by the Labour Court order.

Ratio Decidendi

The Labour Court order did not finally dispose of the factual dispute regarding NUM's representativity as at the critical date. The consent order set out a resolutive condition requiring NUM to prove its majority status to Lonmin by a specified deadline. The subsequent dispute referred to the CCMA concerned whether NUM had, in fact, satisfied this condition. The CCMA commissioner erred by failing to determine the true issue in dispute and by accepting the parties' characterisation without proper enquiry. The Labour Court correctly found that the CCMA was competent to adjudicate whether the precondition for termination had been met, and that this did not amount to revisiting the Labour...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed; Labour Court order confirmed.

Orders

  • The appeal is dismissed.
  • The order of the Labour Court is confirmed.