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GroundUp reports that the Labour Court (LC) has found that Harmony Gold must be held responsible for an employee’s use of the k-word because the company failed to take the necessary steps to address his racist conduct.
In 2020, Sephitiphiti Ntshotsho, an underground locomotive driver at Harmony’s Kusasalethu Mine, laid a complaint with Harmony against fellow employee Cornelius van Zyl for calling him the k-word. He also laid criminal charges against Van Zyl. In its disciplinary process against Van Zyl, Harmony conducted polygraph tests to determine whether Ntshotsho was telling the truth. Both Ntshotsho and his main witness failed the test. Van Zyl’s test was inconclusive. Van Zyl was found guilty of hate speech in the criminal case, and sentenced to six months imprisonment or a R5,000 fine. But Ntshotsho learned that Van Zyl had not been disciplined by Harmony and had been transferred to a different operation. Ntshotsho then approached the CCMA), arguing that he had been the victim of unfair discrimination due to Van Zyl’s hate speech and that because Harmony had failed to remedy the situation, it should be held vicariously liable and pay him damages. The CCMA ruled in Ntshotsho’s favour, ordering Harmony Gold to pay him R100,000 in compensation. Harmony then appealed to the LC, arguing that the company had considered Ntshotsho’s allegations to be false because he had failed the polygraph test. Last month, the LC rejected this argument, saying that polygraph tests could not be relied upon as direct evidence and could, at best, be used to corroborate other forms of evidence. The appeal was dismissed with costs and the order by the CCMA was upheld.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti at GroundUp
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page