Roberts Brothers Construction (Pty) Ltd and Another v National Union of Mineworkers and Others (PA08/18) [2020] ZALAC 15; (2020) 41 ILJ 2107 (LAC); [2020] 10 BLLR 1030 (LAC) (18 May 2020)

Roberts Brothers Construction (Pty) Ltd and Another v National Union of Mineworkers and Others (PA08/18) [2020] ZALAC 15; (2020) 41 ILJ 2107 (LAC); [2020] 10 BLLR 1030 (LAC) (18 May 2020)

The Labour Appeal Court held that the duty imposed by Item 6(2) of the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal to contact a trade union prior to dismissing employees for participating in an unprotected strike applies only to unions that have organisational rights or are sufficiently representative in terms of the Labour Relations Act or have a recognition agreement with the employer. In this case, the National Union of Mineworkers represented only about 7% of the workforce and lacked both organisational rights and a recognition agreement. Accordingly, the appellants were not obliged to contact the union before issuing ultimata or effecting dismissals. The dismissals were not procedurally unfair,...

Citation
[2020] ZALAC 15
Parties
Appellant: Roberts Brothers Construction (Pty) Ltd; Appellant: Mpumalanga Construction (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: National Union of Mineworkers; Respondent: Unathi Stimele; Respondent: W Twalo & 10 Others
Court
Labour Appeal Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
18 May 2020
Case Number
PA08/18
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From Labour Court Judgment
Outcome
Appeal upheld; Labour Court's order set aside and application dismissed.
Judges
Waglay, Murphy, Savage
Legal Topics
Unprotected Strike, Procedural Fairness, Organisational Rights, Compensation for Unfair Dismissal
Labour Law Civil Procedure Unprotected Strike Procedural Fairness Organisational Rights Compensation for Unfair Dismissal

Case Brief

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Parties

Roberts Brothers Construction (Pty) Ltd

Appellant

Mpumalanga Construction (Pty) Ltd

Appellant

National Union of Mineworkers

Respondent

Unathi Stimele

Respondent

W Twalo & 10 Others

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Labour Court Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the employer was obliged under Item 6(2) of the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal to contact the union before dismissing employees for participating in an unprotected strike.
  2. 2 Whether the compensation awarded for procedural unfairness was just and equitable in the circumstances.

Ratio Decidendi

The Labour Appeal Court held that the duty imposed by Item 6(2) of the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal to contact a trade union prior to dismissing employees for participating in an unprotected strike applies only to unions that have organisational rights or are sufficiently representative in terms of the Labour Relations Act or have a recognition agreement with the employer. In this case, the National Union of Mineworkers represented only about 7% of the workforce and lacked both organisational rights and a recognition agreement. Accordingly, the appellants were not obliged to contact the union before issuing ultimata or effecting dismissals. The dismissals were not procedurally unfair,...

Court Disposition

Appeal upheld; Labour Court's order set aside and application dismissed.

Orders

  • The appeal is upheld.
  • The order of the Labour Court is set aside.