GroundUp reports that the Registrar of Labour Relations intends to appeal a Labour Court ruling in June that the Simunye Workers Forum can register as a trade union.

According to the Registrar, the order by Johannesburg Labour Court Judge Andre Van Niekerk directing it to register the Forum as a trade union cannot go unchallenged. He has filed an application for permission to appeal the ruling in the Labour Appeal Court. In his application, the Registrar asserts that the Forum does not meet the requirements, laid out in the Labour Relations Act, for registration as a trade union. “The requirements are not peremptory. The Act treats all unions equally. There is no provision for traditional and new trade unions in the labour market. If this was the case, the Act would have been amended accordingly. The issue raises an important issue of law which has an effect on future litigation regarding the registrar’s decisions,” the Registrar pointed out. The Forum went to court after the Registrar repeatedly refused to register it as a union. Following Judge van Niekerk’s ruling, the Forum, which has about 6,600 members, said once it was registered, it would be able to represent its members in disputes, wage negotiations and in matters before the CCMA. Following the application for leave to appeal, all that will be put on hold. A date for the leave to appeal hearing has not yet been set.

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

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