Today's Labour News

GroundUp reports that five contract workers at an Emalahleni mine who were suspended from work and threatened with disciplinary action because they joined in with other workers seeking permanent jobs in a CCMA case have been reinstated by the Labour Court.  

Judge Andre Van Niekerk ruled that the company which employed them, cleaning contractor Sno Aluhle Projects and Services, acted unlawfully in blocking their access cards to the Kriel Colliery, effectively preventing them from working and earning.  The dispute between the company and the five workers, began in December last year when they and two others joined more than 300 other contract workers at the mine in applying to the CCMA for their jobs to be made permanent.  In January, management of the service company presented them with letters, which they were asked to sign, withdrawing from the CCMA dispute on the basis that “I had no knowledge of what I was signing for, I was misinformed”.  They refused to sign and the following Monday when they arrived at the mine, their clock cards were blocked and they were denied access.  The workers went to the HR manager who gave them letters advising them of their suspension and notifying them of a disciplinary hearing.  The letters referred to the CCMA dispute.  The workers approached the Casual Workers Advice Office (CWAO), which took up their case.  The judge directed the company to reactivate the workers’ access cards and permit them to continue working.  He interdicted the company from taking any disciplinary action against them.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp <https://www.groundup.org.za/article/court-reinstates-contract-workers-fired-approaching-ccma/>

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page