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The Star reports that a judge has read the EFF the riot act over involving itself in labour disputes, telling it to register as a trade union if it insists on organising strikes against employers.
Johannesburg Labour Court Acting Judge Reghana Tulk presided in a final interdict application brought against the EFF by the owners of a Spar franchise. Brightstone Trading took the political party to the Labour Court over unrest at its Roodepoort Spar supermarket. EFF members descended on the Spar after the owners refused to engage on issues involving employees. In an action declared unlawful by the Labour Court, EFF members staged protests with a handful of Spar employees on 16 May and again from 28 May to 1 June. The standoff was sparked by the demotion of an employee from floor manager to cashier. Brightstone obtained an interim interdict order on 1 June and then returned to the court for a final interdict. Noting that EFF members had committed acts of intimidation, obstruction and blockading of premises, Judge Tulk ruled last week that the EFF’s action had been unlawful. She said the EFF’s “emphatic view” that its members’ intervention in a labour dispute was lawful was devoid of merit. “In sum, the first respondent involved itself in workplace matters that did not concern it because it has no standing as a trade union. The first respondent (EFF) was not entitled to organise employees in the applicant’s workplace, or for that matter engage in unlawful protest action in pursuance of demands it simply has no standing to make … If it wants to do so, it must register as a trade union, and comply with the LRA,” the judge ruled. In addition to the final interdict, Judge Tulk also slapped the EFF with legal costs.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongasni Nkosi at The Star
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