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BusinessLive reports that the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has dismissed an application by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) for leave to appeal against a judgment on retrenchments at Royal Bafokeng platinum mine five years ago.
Amcu approached the top court to challenge the constitutionality of certain sections of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), after failing to convince the labour court and subsequently the labour appeal court to overturn the axing of its 103 members by the mine in September 2015. They were retrenched in terms of an agreement signed by two other unions and extended to members of Amcu, which was then a minority union. Amcu’s argument in the lower courts had been that the collective agreement on the retrenchments was “constitutionally objectionable”, as it excluded minority unions. Extending it was equally constitutionally objectionable. Under examination was Section 23(1)(d) of the LRA, which allows an employer and a majority trade union to conclude and extend a collective agreement to employees or members of a union not party to the agreement, and Section 189(1), which provides for employers to consult workers or any workplace forum before retrenching. In a majority judgment, the ConCourt ruled that section 189(1) did not limit the right to fair labour practices. It held that even if the section did limit the right to fair labour practices, such limitation would be justifiable. The court further held that the right not to be unfairly dismissed was sourced in the LRA and not the constitution. It stated that because the decision to retrench was not based on individual conduct there could be no need for individual consultation.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
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