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Labour Court of South Africa, Johannesburg

The Labour Court has the same status as a high court. The Labour Court adjudicates matters relating to labour disputes. Appeals are made to the Labour Appeal Court.

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86 Juta Street, Arbour Square Building, 6th and 7th Floors, Corner Juta and Melle Streets, Braamfontein 2001
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https://www.justice.gov.za/labourcourt
11 judgments
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11 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
January 2012
Pillay v Deloitte Consulting (JS 1184/09) [2012] ZALCJHB 10 (25 January 2012)
Retrenchment for operational requirements found procedurally and substantively fair; selection criteria held objective.
Labour law – retrenchment – section 189 LRA – meaningful consultation and joint consensus-seeking process; selection criteria – chargeable utilisation and market demand – objective vs performance-based; substantive fairness – operational requirements and business justification; mitigation and redeployment; discretion on costs under s162 LRA.
 25 January 2012
Public Servants Association of SA on behalf of Khan v Tsabadi and Others (JR 2459/09) [2012] ZALCJHB 11 (25 January 2012)
Reported
Persistent refusal to obey a lawful transfer instruction and failure to perform duties justified dismissal; review dismissed.
Labour law – review of arbitration award – insubordination for failure to obey transfer instruction – lawfulness and reasonableness of instruction – dismissal as appropriate sanction; record reconstruction and adequacy; disciplinary procedure and legal representation under collective agreement.
 25 January 2012
National Union of Mineworkers and Another v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR 2327/09) [2012] ZALCJHB 9 (20 January 2012)
Reported
Whether condonation for a late review and whether an arbitration award upholding dismissal for dishonesty and intimidation were reasonable.
Labour law – condonation for late review applications; review standard for arbitration awards (Sidumo) – reasonableness; evaluation and weight of expert handwriting evidence; circumstantial and direct evidence; dishonesty and intimidation as grounds for dismissal; appropriateness of dismissal as sanction.
 20 January 2012
Rambar Construction (Pty) Ltd t/a RIXI TAXI v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR 535/2010) [2012] ZALCJHB 7 (20 January 2012)
Reported
Late review dismissed; arbitration award upheld because employer failed to present essential evidence at arbitration.
Labour law – review of arbitration award – condonation for late review – necessity of satisfactory explanation and prospects of success; arbitration de novo – employer’s onus to prove poor performance on balance of probabilities; inadmissibility of fresh evidence on review where omitted at arbitration; section 144 rescission not a rehearing mechanism for parties’ evidential omissions.
 20 January 2012
South African Police Services v Safety and Security Sectorial Bargaining Council and Others (JR 1682/08) [2012] ZALCJHB 8 (20 January 2012)
Reported
Arbitrator misapplied promotion policy and ignored material evidence; no unfair labour practice found, award set aside.
Labour law – Review of arbitration award – gross irregularity and failure to apply mind – interpretation and application of promotion policy (National Instruction 1/2004) – promotion disputes – employment equity not determinative – Court may substitute award where record permits.
 20 January 2012
Van Wyk v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR 2833/09) [2012] ZALCJHB 6 (20 January 2012)
Review dismissed: dismissal for unauthorised absence and failure to comply with notification rule was reasonably upheld.
Labour law – review of arbitration award – whether dismissal for unauthorised absence and failure to follow notification rules was substantively fair – assessment of reasonableness of commissioner’s decision and consideration of medical evidence.
 20 January 2012
Modikwa Platinum Mine (Pty) Ltd v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR 1207/06) [2012] ZALCJHB 5 (19 January 2012)
Reported
An objection to con-arb prevents immediate arbitration; proceeding despite such objection and refusing a short stand-down was a gross irregularity.
Labour law – con-arb under section 191(5A) – objection to con-arb precludes immediate arbitration; objection itself suffices to stultify con-arb. Administrative law – review – gross irregularity – proceeding despite valid objection and unreasonable refusal to stand matter down. Arbitration practice – commissioner’s discretion to continue or adjourn under section 138(5) applies in con-arb context.
 19 January 2012
POPCRU obo E Kalipa v Robertson N.O. and Others (JR 2496/08) [2012] ZALCJHB 4 (19 January 2012)
Refusal to condone a late promotion dispute referral upheld due to vague excuse and weak prospects of success.
Labour law – condonation of late referral to bargaining council – factors: degree of lateness, reasons, prospects of success, balance of convenience/prejudice – requirement that unions signatory to dispute procedures be vigilant – inadequate/explained delay may warrant refusal without detailed merits inquiry.
 19 January 2012
Rech’s Nurseries (Pty) Ltd v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR 433/2010) [2012] ZALCJHB 3 (19 January 2012)
Whether a commissioner may set aside a dismissal by finding a charge defective despite the charge being sufficiently clear.
Labour law – dismissal for misconduct – clarity of charge – disciplinary charge sufficiently clear to enable defence; arbitration review – commissioner must weigh evidence and assess witness reliability; speculative findings and re-characterisation of charges amount to gross irregularity warranting setting aside award.
 19 January 2012
National Union of Mineworkers and Another v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration and Others (JR 3125/09) [2012] ZALCJHB 2 (13 January 2012)
Arbitrator’s substantive decision reasonable, but procedural unfairness due to burden-shifting; two months’ compensation awarded.
Labour law – review of CCMA arbitration award – Sidumo reasonableness standard – whether award a decision a reasonable commissioner could reach. Dismissal – substantive fairness – evidence, credibility and dishonesty as basis for dismissal. Dismissal – procedural fairness – onus under sections 188 and 192 of the LRA; improper burden-shifting by commissioner. Remedy – Labour Court’s power to substitute arbitration awards where material permits; compensation for procedurally unfair dismissal.
 13 January 2012
Director General: Department of Public Works and Another v Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council and Others (JR 948/09) [2012] ZALCJHB 1 (6 January 2012)
Reported
Arbitrator's wrong statutory interpretation and reliance on an unpleaded entrapment defence vitiated the award; dismissal held fair.
Labour law – Review of arbitration award – Gross irregularity – Failure to resolve conflicting versions and to apply credibility/probabilities test; Misapplication of statutory definition of corruption (used dictionary instead); Reliance on unpleaded defence (entrapment) – Award set aside and substituted.
 6 January 2012