Merafong City Local Municipality v South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and Another; In re: South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and Another v Merafong City Local Municipality and Others (J1021/12) [2014] ZALCJHB 134 (24 April 2014)
The court applied the established test for leave to appeal, considering whether there was a reasonable prospect that another court might reach a different decision. After reviewing all eleven grounds advanced by the applicant and the submissions made, the court found no sound or rational basis, in fact or law, for...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2014] ZALCJHB 134
- Parties
- Applicant: Merafong City Local Municipality; Respondent: South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU); Respondent: Vuyisile Patrick Nqaba
- Court
- Labour Court Johannesburg
- Jurisdiction
- South Africa
- Case Number
- J1021/12
- Procedural Posture
- Leave to Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Judgment Dated 10 May 2013
- Outcome
- Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
- Judges
- Lallie
- Legal Topics
- Leave to Appeal, Reasonable Prospects of Success, Test for Appeal, Unopposed Application
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Merafong City Local Municipality
Applicant
South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU)
Respondent
Vuyisile Patrick Nqaba
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Leave to Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Judgment Dated 10 May 2013
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the applicant has reasonable prospects of success on appeal against the judgment dated 10 May 2013.
- 2 Whether another court might reasonably reach a different decision based on the facts and law.
Ratio Decidendi
The court applied the established test for leave to appeal, considering whether there was a reasonable prospect that another court might reach a different decision. After reviewing all eleven grounds advanced by the applicant and the submissions made, the court found no sound or rational basis, in fact or law, for another court to reasonably reach a different conclusion. The application was not an opportunity to revisit or justify the original judgment, but to apply the relevant legal test. The applicant failed to demonstrate any realistic prospects of success on appeal, and the submissions outside the scope of the test were disregarded.
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
32 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
THE LABOUR COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA,JOHANNESBURG
JUDGMENT
CASE NO: J1021/12
In the matter between:
MERAFONG CITY LOCAL MUNICIPALITY Applicant
And
SOUTH AFRICAN MUNICIPAL WORKERS UNION (“SAMWU”) 1st Respondent
VUYISILE PATRICK NQABA 2nd Respondent
in re:
SOUTH AFRICAN MUNICIPAL WORKERS UNION (“SAMWU”) 1st Applicant
VUYISILE PATRICK NQABA 2nd Applicant
and
MERAFONG CITY LOCAL MUNICIPALITY 1st Respondent
NHLANHLA MABASO 2nd Respondent
MEC FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT : GAUTENG 3rd Respondent
Delivered: 24 April 2014
LEAVE TO APPEAL JUDGMENT
Lallie J
[1] The applicant seeks leave to appeal against the whole of my judgment dated 10 May 2013. This unopposed application is based on what the applicant referred to as legal and/or factual errors.
[2] The test for leave to appeal is whether another Court might reasonably come to a decision different from the one I reached. In Lodewicus Andries Michael Kruger v The State[1] the court confirmed that the test for leave to appeal is whether there is a reasonable prospect of success. The court referred with approval to S v Smith[2] where the test for leave to appeal was expressed as follows:
‘What the test of reasonable prospects of success postulates is a dispassionate decision, based on the facts and the law, that a court of appeal could reasonably arrive at a conclusion different to that of the trial court. In order to succeed, therefore, the appellant must convince this court on proper grounds that he has prospects of succeed on appeal and that those prospects are not remote but have a realistic chance of succeeding. More is required to be established than that there is a mere possibility of success, that the case is arguable on appeal or that the case cannot be categorized as hopeless. There must, in other words, be a sound, rational basis for the conclusion that there are prospects of success on appeal’.
[3] I have considered all eleven grounds the applicant sought to rely on, the submissions on its behalf and my judgment. The determination of this application is neither an opportunity to rewrite my judgment nor to justify it. It requires the application of the relevant test. The submissions which fall outside the relevant test are therefore of no moment. I could find no reason, based on both the facts and the law, for another court to reasonably reach a decision different from the one the applicant seeks leave to appeal against. The applicant therefore has no prospects of success.
[4] In the premises the application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
______________________________
Judge of the Labour Court
Matter considered in Chambers:
For the Applicant: Advocate M S M Brassey SC and Advocate M J Engelbrech
Instructed by: De
Swardt Vogel Myambo Attorneys
[1] Unreported (612/13 [2013] ZA SCA 198 para 2
[2] 2012 (1) SACR 567 (SCA) para 7