The Star reports that the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has slammed Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court judges who award punitive legal costs in labour cases.

In a unanimous judgment penned by Justice Sisi Khampepe and delivered on 7 September 2021, the apex court said it was concerned that labour judges at times slapped losing parties with costs despite the law being clear that they should not. “The established rule in litigation that costs follow the result does not apply in labour matters. Despite this, however, there is now a concerning pattern of this court being requested to overturn decisions of the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court applying the general rule that costs follow the result without more, to matters before those courts,” said Justice Khampepe. It was not merely out of overzealous generosity that costs did not follow the result in labour matters, she pointed out, as the rule was intended to ensure accessibility of fora established to resolve labour disputes. Justice Khampepe’s judgment followed an application by the Union for Police Security and Correction Organisations (Upsco), which was slapped with lawyers’ costs after it lost an appeal against the SA Custodial Management (SACM). The union and SACM had squared off in the Labour Court over enforcement of a collective agreement. Justice Khampepe was scathing about the awarding of legal costs against Upsco, saying: “I have penned this judgment in the hope that no more judicial resources will be wasted on this trite issue in the future. Costs do not follow the result in labour matters.”

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Nkosi on page 2 of The Star of 8 September 2021

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