Poolo v Edgars Cresta (J4428/00) [2001] ZALC 82 (5 June 2001)

Poolo v Edgars Cresta (J4428/00) [2001] ZALC 82 (5 June 2001)

The court held that the SAPS Disciplinary Regulations do not expressly preclude employees from referring dismissal disputes to the CCMA or SSSBCA after an appeal. The phrase 'final and binding' in the regulations means only that there are no further internal procedures available, not that external dispute resolution is excluded. There is no general principle in the LRA or the regulations requiring employees to exhaust internal appeal procedures before approaching external forums. The constitution of the SSSBCA provides for conciliation and arbitration, and these mechanisms are not rendered superfluous by the appeal procedure. Limiting employees' rights to review only the appeal tribunal's...

Citation
[2001] ZALC 82
Parties
Applicant: The Minister of Safety and Security; Respondent: The Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council and 9 Others
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
5 June 2001
Case Number
J5646/00
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Judgment After Hearing on Review of Arbitration Awards
Outcome
Application dismissed with costs.
Judges
E Revelas
Legal Topics
Collective Agreements, Disciplinary Appeals, Jurisdiction of Arbitration, Final and Binding Awards, Review of Arbitration Awards
Labour Law Civil Procedure Collective Agreements Disciplinary Appeals Jurisdiction of Arbitration Final and Binding Awards Review of Arbitration Awards

Case Brief

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Parties

The Minister of Safety and Security

Applicant

The Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council and 9 Others

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Judgment After Hearing on Review of Arbitration Awards

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the SAPS Disciplinary Regulations preclude dismissed employees from referring disputes to the CCMA or SSSBCA after an appeal.
  2. 2 Whether the decision of the SAPS appeal authority is 'final and binding' so as to exclude further arbitration.
  3. 3 Whether employees must exhaust internal appeal procedures before approaching external dispute resolution forums.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the SAPS Disciplinary Regulations do not expressly preclude employees from referring dismissal disputes to the CCMA or SSSBCA after an appeal. The phrase 'final and binding' in the regulations means only that there are no further internal procedures available, not that external dispute resolution is excluded. There is no general principle in the LRA or the regulations requiring employees to exhaust internal appeal procedures before approaching external forums. The constitution of the SSSBCA provides for conciliation and arbitration, and these mechanisms are not rendered superfluous by the appeal procedure. Limiting employees' rights to review only the appeal tribunal's...

Court Disposition

Application dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • The application to review and set aside the arbitration awards is dismissed.
  • The applicant is ordered to pay the costs of the respondents.