South Africa Case Law

Colgate-Palmolive (Pty) Ltd v Rala-Rala and Others (JR79/19)

Colgate-Palmolive (Pty) Ltd v Rala-Rala and Others (JR79/19) [2021] ZALCJHB 35 (20 January 2021)

Court

Labour Court Johannesburg

Case number

JR79/19

Judge

P Nkutha-Nkontwana

The court held that section 187(1)(c) of the LRA, as amended, is intended to protect collective bargaining and does not apply to individual dismissals. The first respondent was dismissed for misconduct following a disciplinary hearing, and the NBCCI has jurisdiction to arbitrate the dispute under section 191(5) of the LRA. The applicant's reliance on section 187(1)(c) was misplaced and constituted a strategy to delay the proceedings. The arbitrator correctly identified the real nature of the dispute, and there was no just and equitable reason for the Labour Court to entertain a review of the…

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• Automatically Unfair Dismissal
• Jurisdiction Of Bargaining Council
• Section 187 1 C Lra
• Section 158 1b Lra
• Unfair Dismissal For Misconduct

National Union of Metal Metalworkers of South Africa and Another v Aveng Trident Steel (A Division of Aveng Africa Proprietary Limited) and Others (JA25/18)

National Union of Metal Metalworkers of South Africa and Another v Aveng Trident Steel (A Division of Aveng Africa Proprietary Limited) and Others (JA25/18) [2019] ZALAC 36; (2019) 40 ILJ 2024 (LAC); [2019] 9 BLLR 899 (LAC) (13 June 2019)

Court

Labour Appeal Court

Case number

JA25/18

Judges

Coppin, Murphy, Savage

The Labour Appeal Court held that the amendment to section 187(1)(c) of the LRA did not prohibit dismissals for operational requirements where employees refuse to accept changes to terms and conditions of employment. The Court reasoned that the true reason for dismissal must be determined by examining both factual and legal causation. In this case, Aveng's operational requirements were the dominant and proximate cause of the dismissals, not the mere refusal to accept a demand. The proposals for job restructuring and grade changes were alternatives to retrenchment, aimed at saving jobs and ens…

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• Automatically Unfair Dismissal
• Operational Requirements
• Collective Bargaining
• Retrenchment Consultation
• Section 187 1 C Lra
• Section 189 Lra

Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural and Allied Workers Union v Robertson Abattoir (CA12/2015)

Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural and Allied Workers Union v Robertson Abattoir (CA12/2015) [2016] ZALAC 44; [2016] 12 BLLR 1163 (LAC); (2017) 38 ILJ 121 (LAC) (22 August 2016)

Court

Labour Appeal Court

Case number

CA12/2015

Judges

Davis JA, Musi JA, Murphy AJA

The Labour Appeal Court held that the test for absolution from the instance is whether there is evidence upon which a court, applying its mind reasonably, could or might find for the plaintiff. The appellants produced evidence, including testimony and correspondence, that raised a credible possibility of automatically unfair dismissal under section 187(1)(c) of the LRA. The evidence suggested that the employer sought to compel employees to accept increased slaughter targets and overtime, and that the lockout and subsequent replacement of workers constituted dismissal for refusal to accede to…

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• Automatically Unfair Dismissal
• Absolution From The Instance
• Section 187 1 C Lra
• Disciplinary Hearing
• Lockout
• Burden Of Proof

Abbatoir v CSAAWU obo Dube and Others; In Re: CSAAWU obo Dube and Others v Abbatoir (C315/2011)

Abbatoir v CSAAWU obo Dube and Others; In Re: CSAAWU obo Dube and Others v Abbatoir (C315/2011) [2014] ZALCCT 38 (31 July 2014)

Court

Labour Court Cape Town

Case number

C315/2011

Judge

Anton Steenkamp

The Labour Court held that nine workers had locus standi in an automatically unfair dismissal dispute based on an alleged 30 November 2010 lockout.

• Automatically Unfair Dismissal
• Locus Standi
• Conciliation Requirement
• Lockout
• Section 187 1 C Lra
• Automatically-unfair-dismissal