PSA obo Munyuwa v General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council and Others (Reasons) (JR1312/21) [2025] ZALCJHB 269 (16 May 2025)
The Labour Court found that the review application had lapsed by operation of law and was archived, resulting in a lack of jurisdiction to grant the consent order sought by the parties. The applicant failed to provide a proper factual basis for condonation at the hearing and therefore was granted an opportunity to...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2025] ZALCJHB 269
- Parties
- Applicant: PSA obo J Manyuwa; Respondent: General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council; Respondent: Commissioner Tau Hlongwane N.O.; Respondent: Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
- Court
- Labour Court Johannesburg
- Jurisdiction
- South Africa
- Case Number
- JR1312/21
- Procedural Posture
- Review Application / Reasons for Order Following Review Application
- Outcome
- The applicant is afforded an opportunity to bring an application to reinstate the review application.
- Judges
- M T M Phehane
- Legal Topics
- Review of Arbitration Award, Condonation, Jurisdiction, Reinstatement of Application
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
PSA obo J Manyuwa
Applicant
General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council
Respondent
Commissioner Tau Hlongwane N.O.
Respondent
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Reasons for Order Following Review Application
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the Labour Court has jurisdiction to grant a consent order when the review application has lapsed by operation of law.
- 2 Whether condonation should be granted for the late prosecution of the review application.
- 3 Whether the applicant should be afforded an opportunity to reinstate the review application.
Ratio Decidendi
The Labour Court found that the review application had lapsed by operation of law and was archived, resulting in a lack of jurisdiction to grant the consent order sought by the parties. The applicant failed to provide a proper factual basis for condonation at the hearing and therefore was granted an opportunity to bring a substantive application to reinstate the review application. The matter could not proceed on the merits until reinstatement and condonation were properly addressed.
Court Disposition
The applicant is afforded an opportunity to bring an application to reinstate the review application.
Orders
- The applicant is granted leave to bring a substantive application for condonation and reinstatement of the review application.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
31 paragraphs
THE LABOUR COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA, JOHANNESBURG
Not Reportable
Case No: JR1312/21
In the matter between:
PSA OBO J MANYUWA
Applicant
And
GENERAL PUBLIC SERVICE SECTORAL
BARGAINING COUNCIL
First Respondent
COMMISSIONER TAU HLONGWANE N.O.
Second Respondent
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, LAND
REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Third Respondent
Heard: 13 May 2025
Delivered: 13 May 2025
Reasons delivered: 16 May 2025 (This judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the parties’ legal representatives by email, publication on the Labour Court website and release to SAFLII. The date and time for handing-down is deemed to be 10h00 on 16 May 2025.)
REASONS FOR ORDER
PHEHANE, J
Introduction
[1] This is an application to review and set aside an arbitration award dated 14 May 2021, received by the applicant on 1 June 2021.
[2] The review application was launched on 1 July 2021, when the former Rules and Practice Manual of this Court applied.[1] It transpires that this review application has lapsed by operation of the law.[2]
[3] Adv Quilliam for the applicant informed this Court that the third respondent indicated that it will not oppose this application, as the parties have consented to an order that the arbitration award be reviewed and set aside and that the matter be remitted to the second respondent for an arbitration hearing de novo. As I understand the submission, portions of the record of the arbitration proceedings are missing and efforts to reconstruct the record have failed.
[4] In view of the review application having lapsed with the result that it is archived by operation of the law, this Court lacks jurisdiction to grant the consent order.
[5] As the review application was unopposed and the parties were desirous to have their consent as set out above made an order of Court, in order to expedite the matter, Mr. Quilliam was invited, subject to taking instructions, to make submissions regarding condonation for this Court to consider. Mr. Quilliam submitted that no proper factual basis to explain the non-compliance with the Rules and Practice Manual as they stood at the time were before the Court, therefore, the applicant sought an indulgence to bring a substantive application for condonation.
[6] In the premises, an order was granted to afford the applicant the opportunity to bring an application to reinstate the review application.
M. T. M. Phehane
Judge of the Labour Court of South Africa
[1] GN 1665 of 14 October 1996 and the Practice Manual of the Labour Court of 2013 (repealed on 17 July 2024).
[2] The notice in terms of the former Rule 7A(6) was delivered on 26 August 2022 ; the notice in terms of the former Rule 7A(8)(b) was delivered on 5 October 2023 and the notice in terms of the former Rule 22B was delivered on 14 February 2024.