GroundUp reports that at a recent hearing of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), commissioner Nomsa Mbileni ordered the reinstatement of a factory worker who had been fired for reporting for duty under the influence of dagga.  

Ofentse Rakang, employed as a “picker” at the Rankeng/Signature Cosmetics and Fragrance company in February 2018, was dismissed in June 2019 for misconduct after he was found to have reported for duty under the influence of dagga in May that year.  He admitted that he had smoked a full “zol” at home at 5am that morning before reporting for duty at about 7am.  Management directed him to undergo a drug test and he tested positive for cannabis.  Rakang, who represented himself at the hearing, denied that he had been “under the influence”, and questioned why he had been allowed to continue working that day if that had been the case.  He argued the test did not show he was “under the influence”, but only indicated that he had tested positive for cannabis.  Commissioner Mbileni noted that company policy was that employees should not be allowed to remain on the premises if it was suspected they were under the influence of any drug.  “In my view that was an acceptance that although he admitted to smoking cannabis, and subsequently tested positive for it, it had not affected his ability to perform his work,” the commissioner concluded.  Although Rakang might have been irresponsible, dismissal was too harsh, said the commissioner, and ordered his reinstatement without back pay but with a final written warning, valid for 12 months.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp

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