This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
Sandile July of Werksmans Attorneys writes about the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) judgment on 18 April 2023 on the interpretation of section 76(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) in Numsa v Trenstar.
Numsa's members had embarked on a strike in the form of a total withdrawal of labour that continued for several weeks. But on 20 November 2020, Numsa notified Trenstar that it decided to suspend its strike and its members would return to work on 23 November 2020. However, the union also indicated that it had not withdrawn its demand (which was the cause of the strike). After receipt of this notification Trenstar gave 48 hours' notice of its intention to lock out all Numsa members. On 23 October 2020, Trenstar proceeded to lock out Numsa's members and made use of replacement labour. The legal issue that had to be decided was whether an employer may institute a lockout when, at the time it was instituted, employees had already suspended their strike. The right to make use of temporary (‘scab’) labour as provided for in the LRA applies only when the use of temporary labour is in response to a strike (defensive lockout). The Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court both held that the Trenstar lockout was a defensive lockout entitling the employer to make use of temporary labour. The ConCourt differed in its approach and upheld Numsa's appeal by finding that Trenstar could not lawfully make use of temporary labour as at the time that the lockout actually began, Numsa's members were not on strike. The Court reasoned that suspending a strike merely meant that the employees did not waive their unconditional right that previously accrued to them to strike. However, it did not mean that they continued to strike. July points out that the Numsa decision was simply an issue of the timeline. He write that the decision did not detract from the employer's ability to make use of temporary labour.
- Read the full original of the piece in the above regard by Sandile July at Fin24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page